“So sayeth… the wise Red Summer.”

  Those words echoed in Phil’s ears long after Kenta Heihachi had fallen silent. There was little to be gleaned from them. It wasn't like it was a passcode or some hint to a puzzle. It was nothing more than a gesture of respect that the creature before him felt for the monster that was Red Summer. A mantra, at most. A mantra he’d been hearing much more frequently as of late.

  “I will take the first turn.” The Police Chief sneered. Part of the air between the two duelists solidified for them to place their cards down, an action that both of them wordlessly carried out. Despite Phil’s attitude before the duel and the chief's own display of arrogance, the two men kept a wary eye on each other.

  The surroundings darkened. Even the lights above struggled to illuminate the duel, and nothing outside the office could be seen other than the swirling, whispering shadows. A heavy sensation pressed down on Phil’s shoulders. In the corner of his eye, he could see it affect Tilla as well. Her face had taken on a strained look, while Rebecca’s entire frame trembled. Then there was a second light separate from the lamps hanging from the ceiling. This light was dimmer than the rest, washing down from above with a soft pink hue that felt like it could see through Phil’s entire being.

  It was an eye. A single pink eye nestled amid the asbestos ceiling tiles, staring down at the duel with an unbearable, ravenous hunger that knew no end. It was under that eye that the pressure fled without a trace, that the shadows quieted so that even their whispers were unintelligible, and that a bead of sweat dripped down the brow of Kenta Heihachi. Phil’s shoulders felt light. Tilla’s face no longer bore a hint of strain, and Rebecca’s body calmed.

  Phil jerked his head up to the ceiling. “Looks like a good friend of mine is hungry, don’t cha’ think? And he sees the perfect appetizer right in front of him!”

  Kenta Heihachi merely laughed in response. Even that act from him sounded emotionless.

  “What a shame it will go hungry. I draw. I place one monster in face-down defense position, a card face-down, and end my turn!”

  The man’s words had hardly left his lips before Phil drew to start his turn. Phil’s eyes flicked around the room. Though little could be seen outside the office due to the shadows, he knew there were at least three officers in the building. The magical aspect of the game would provide some amount of a muffling effect, but he also hardly wanted to try his luck – finishing this duel as quickly and quietly as possible would be for the best.

  “Fine by me. I’ll open my turn by playing the spell card, Foolish Burial! This lets me send one monster from my deck to my graveyard, that being Treeborn Frog (100/100)! Then I’ll summon Mother Grizzly (1400/1000) in attack mode and move right to my battle phase! Grizzly, face-check his monster for me ASAP!”

  A giant grizzly bear rushed onto the field and reared up to its hind legs to send a vicious swat with its claws toward Kenta Heihachi’s facedown monster.

  “The flip effect of Iron Blacksmith Kotetsu (500/500) activates!” Kenta Heihachi spat out venomously. “This effect allows me to add one equip spell card from my deck to my hand. Come to me, Premature Burial!”

  As the bare-chested blacksmith was split in two by the bear’s claws, a blue spell card from Kenta Heihachi’s deck took on a life of its own to float into the man’s hand. Phil tilted his head with curiosity. Premature Burial was indeed a powerful card, but its power was limited by what was in the graveyard to revive. As Kenta Heihachi had nothing other than Iron Blacksmith Kotetsu in his graveyard, the equip spell was useless unless he wanted to set up for a tribute summon or just save it for later if he needed a comeback option.

  “Pass turn.”

  -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

  Tilla watched the duel unfold with crossed arms and a piercing gaze. It was still the opening move. Neither Phil nor his despicable opponent had committed to any big moves yet. However, on both sides, the setup was clear to her eyes.

  Phil had already prepped a Treeborn Frog, a card which Tilla was somewhat familiar with through her travels in the pro circuit. So long as Phil had no spells or traps on his side of the field, his Treeborn Frog would be special summoned to his field from the graveyard during each of his standby phases, allowing him a chance each turn to tribute summon, or even just to use it as a wall monster if his draws were poor. To add to that, Mother Grizzly was a ‘recruiter’ type monster of the water attribute. That meant if it was destroyed by battle, Phil could special summon any one water monster with 1500 or fewer attack points straight from his deck to his field.

  Meanwhile, Kenta Heihachi had prepared a powerful equip spell in the form of Premature Burial, and the rest of his hand was a mystery.

  The sound of splitting wood briefly drew Tilla’s attention away from the duel to focus on Rebecca. The girl had turned her attention to a small locked drawer in the Police Chief's desk, now that the rest of the drawers had been successfully rooted through. Though the lock was small, neither Phil, Tilla, nor Rebecca had found the key during their search of the office. That was, until Rebecca had found a different sort of key.

  "Got it!" Rebecca raised her arms in quiet, smug triumph. In her right hand was a hammer, the curved end of which she'd stuck through a gap between the drawer and the rest of the desk to pry it open. Tilla shot her a thumbs up and a proud smile.

  Inside the drawer was a single document. Tilla grabbed it to hold up to her face, her brows furrowing the longer she looked at it. The document was a floor plan for a large single-story building, but there was no label to indicate what building it even was to begin with. Not even the rooms were labeled. It did feel familiar… but how? In what way? Rebecca removed the drawer from the desk, but there were no other documents within it, not even one taped to the underside of the desk itself.

  A large crash from the direction of the duelists made Tilla start slightly, with Rebecca jumping almost a foot up in the air and letting out a coarse swear. Tilla’s frown deepened. She set the floor plan aside for later and turned her attention back to the duel.

  A floor plan… why would they need something like that?

  -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

  Two monsters faded to dust on the field. The first was Mother Grizzly, falling to the floor with a whine of pain. The second, on Kenta Heihachi’s side of the field, was a giant fanged tomato.

  “Mother Grizzly’s effect activates!”

  “Mystic Tomato’s effect activates!”

  Both duelists shouted in unison. Two more monsters swarmed out of the shadows to face each other – a second Mother Grizzly, and a second Mystic Tomato (1400/1100).

  “Mystic Tomato attacks!” Kenta Heihachi declared.

  Once more, both bear and vegetable tore each other to shreds, and once more their effects activated to summon a third and final copy of themselves.

  “Again!”

  Their effects were activated for a final time. Yet, this time their targets were different.

  “Summoning T.A.D.P.O.L.E. (0/0)!”

  “Summoning Newdoria (1200/800)”!

  Both monsters shimmered to the field in attack position. The former, a tiny tadpole with red flame designs on its head, quaked under the screech of a red fiendish ghoul covered with spikes.

  “Poor choice of a monster! Newdoria, attack!”

  The ghoul's slavering jaws tore Phil's tiny amphibian to shreds.

  “What a fucking moron! T.A.D.P.O.L.E.’s effect triggers to send two more T.A.D.P.O.L.E. monsters from my deck to my graveyard!” Phil snapped back. A thin line of blood dripped from his nose to run down his face.

  “Inconsequential.” Kenta Heihachi sneered. “In my second main phase, I pay 800 life points to activate Premature Burial! My target is Mystic Tomato!”

  Phil:2800 Kenta Heihachi: 3200

  Once more, the evil vegetable took the field, looking just as menacing as the spiked fiend Newdoria beside it.

  “I place a face-down and end my turn!”

  Phil took a card from the top of his deck. “Standby phase, Treeborn’s effect activates to special summon itself! Then, I’ll go right to my main! Say goodbye to Treeborn Frog, say hello to my little friend! I sacrifice Treeborn to tribute summon Des Frog (1900/0)! Des Frog’s effect triggers, allowing me to special summon additional Des Frogs equal to the number of T.A.D.P.O.L.E.s in my graveyard! That’s two more, baby!”

  "You've activated my trap card!" Kenta Heihachi said, laughing hollowly as he flipped over one of his face-down cards to reveal a purple card. A giant hole opened up beneath the feet of two of the three frogs as they hopped onto the field, sending them plummeting into an endless abyss.

  “Bottomless Trap Hole! When you summon a monster or monsters with 1500 or higher attack, this card destroys and banishes them!”

  “And since the two Des Frogs I summoned through the first were brought out simultaneously, they both get caught up in that effect.” Phil summarized. “What an annoying piece of shit.” He spat onto the floor for good measure.

  “Annoying piece of shit!” Rebecca echoed, waving her arms in the air.

  Now there was only one frog on Phil’s side of the field. His hand drifted up to his chin out of habit to wisely stroke a beard that was no longer there. Destroying the Newdoria would only trigger its own effect to pop a monster on the field. Yet, if he killed Mystic Tomato, that would net his opponent another dark monster with 1500 or fewer attack points. He could sit on his ass and do nothing… but then Kenta Heihachi would only have to ram his Newdoria into Des Frog during his own turn. Plus, there was the remaining facedown card.

  This…

  He looked up from the field to meet Kenta Heihachi’s eyes. This guy was an annoying fellow.

  “Fuck it, we’re ballin’!” Phil suddenly laughed and held his arms out wide. “Let’s see what’s behind door number two! Des Frog, destroy Mystic Tomato!”

  A long, fleshy tongue whipped out of Des Frog's mouth in a blur of movement to catch Mystic Tomato on the side and pull it into its mouth, where it was split open in one juicy crunch.

  “You fool! Mystic Tomato’s effect activates!” Kenta Heihachi gave a hollow laugh once again. “To summon from my deck, it will be Dark Jeroid (1200/1500)! On the completion of its summon, Dark Jeroid’s effect activates! Your Des Frog will permanently lose 800 attack points!”

  Des Frog (1900/0 -> 1100/0).

  “Motherfucker!” Phil said in surprise. Dark Jeroid had certainly been an unexpected pick, but he couldn’t deny its effectiveness in this situation. “Well, it sucks to do this, but here goes! In my main two, I activate the equip spell, Ekibyo Drakmord! By equipping it to your Newdoria, it will be destroyed at the end of your second turn, and it cannot attack during that time.”

  Newdoria suddenly began to clutch at its head, whimpering and drooling as a mass of blue spots began to crawl across its skin.

  “Then I’ll throw down a facedown and end my turn.”

  Kenta Heihachi adjusted the brim of his cowboy hat with one hand as his other drew a card from his deck. His hollow eyes briefly flashed with triumph before fading away to be emotionless once more.

  “Worthless! You may have neutralized my Newdoria, but it is nothing but a minor setback! I sacrifice Newdoria to tribute summon Doom Shaman (2400/2000)!

  The spiked ghoul faded away to allow a new fiendish monster to take the field, a humanoid creature with long, curled goat horns on its brow, a staff topped with a skull clutched in its claws, and an evil look in its eyes. Meanwhile, Phil’s equip card spun away from the graveyard, destroyed now that its target was no longer on the field.

  Phil’s pupils constricted. A sharp intake of breath from Tilla’s direction told him she recognized the threat as well. This card… he was quite familiar with it. As a gemini monster, it was nothing more than a bit beatstick right now. But, if it were normal summoned again to activate its gemini effect, Doom Shaman would gain the ability to special summon a fiend monster from Kenta Heihachi’s hand or graveyard once per turn, ignoring any level limitations.

  The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

  That meant a simple level four could be brought out, or a massive level eight could be dropped onto the field. The only limitation was the cards in his opponent's hand/graveyard, and any summoning requirements that meant a specific fiend monster couldn’t simply be cheated out onto the field.

  In short, dealing with Doom Shaman was now priority numero uno.

  -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

  “Doom Shaman… that’s… bad.” For the first time in this duel, a hint of worry appeared in Tilla’s voice.

  “Is it?” Rebecca tilted her head in confusion. “It only has 2400 attack points. Does it have a scary effect?”

  Tilla nodded to confirm Rebecca’s words.

  “If it lives long enough, that man can bring forth an endless parade of fiends from his hand and graveyard. Newdoria… Dark Jeroid, and more.”

  “Even Mystic Tomato?!?” Rebecca’s voice answered in shock.

  “No. Thankfully, not that. Mystic Tomato is a plant monster.”

  Rebecca put her hand up to her chin to wisely stroke an invisible beard, just like how she always saw Phil do. “So… if uncle can’t deal with it fast…”

  “Exactly.”

  Tilla subconsciously chewed her bottom lip. Her hand drifted to her waist, where her own deck was stored in a box clipped to a belt around her dress.

  If Phil…

  A thin trail of blood trickled down her lip as her teeth broke skin.

  It might be her turn to duel next if that monster was not dealt with immediately.

  -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

  “My battle phase begins!” Kenta Heihachi shouted. He pointed right at Phil’s weakened Des Frog. “Dark Jeroid shall strike down that monster, while Doom Shaman attacks directly!”

  The deformed beast under Kenta Heihachi’s control scampered forward on its six legs, each of the legs ending not with a foot, but with a hand. Two more clawed arms attached to its headless torso whipped around in the air to catch Des Frog, rending it from head to toe. Meanwhile, it was no sooner than Dark Jeroid had leaped to the side that a large dark orb of fathomless evil energy blasted out from Doom Shaman’s staff to catch Phil right in the chest, causing him to double over onto the floor, coughing and wheezing to regain his breath.

  Phil:300 Kenta Heihachi: 3200

  “UNCLE PHIL!” Rebecca screamed out. Her eyes were wide with horror, a sign of how fragile her previous surge of brave confidence had been. Only when Phil nonchalantly waved his hand through the air and struggled to a stand did Rebecca wrestle her fear back under control to let out a flurry of curse words directed toward the Police Chief.

  "Damn, that hit like a truck." Phil hawked a gob of blood off to the side. "Seems like you failed to kill me this turn. I'll make you regret that."

  “Regret what?” Kenta Heihachi said with a tilted head. “You control a card in your spell/trap card zone, so that means your Treeborn Frog cannot return from the grave. You have no monsters. What do I have to fear from you?”

  His turn ended. Phil drew a card.

  “This.” He simply said and revealed a monster in his hand. “I summon Beelze Frog (1200/800). While on the field, it gains 300 attack points for each T.A.D.P.O.L.E. in my graveyard.”

  Beelze Frog (1200/800 -> 2100/800).

  "Which is under the attack power of my Doom Shaman." Kenta Heihachi pointed out. It was a fact Phil accepted with a brief nod of his head.

  “True. I’m gonna murderize your Dark Jeroid. Beelze Frog, chow time.”

  On Phil's side of the field was a frog with black and red skin and a pair of leathery blue wings. Its eyes were filled with innocence as it regarded the multi-limbed monstrosity under Kenta Heihachi's control. And then in an instant, that innocence vanished to be replaced by an endless well of sadism. It raised its froggy hands to make a vicious strangling motion with them, accompanied by a wet squelching noise that dripped from its slavering, toothless jaws.

  The frog lunged forward with all the speed of a striking snake, catching Dark Jeroid even as it frantically backpedaled away from the jaws of the murderous amphibian. Yet, even with its multiple legs, the fiend monster simply could not move fast enough. Its torso flinched as Beelze Frog wrapped its mouth around one arm, and then two, its jaw unhinging to enlarge itself to nearly impossible proportions so that the frog could stuff Dark Jeroid down its gullet all in one go.

  “Yum.” The homicidal frog said in a monotone, licking its lips now that its enemy was no more. Its eyes were locked right at Kenta Heihachi – a wordless signal that he was next on the menu.

  Phil:300 Kenta Heihachi: 2300

  “I end my turn.”

  Kenta Heihachi’s turn began. He drew a card and leaped right into his main phase.

  “In accordance with the rules for gemini monsters, I normal summon Doom Shaman a second time to unlock its true power!”

  An ominous blue glow wrapped its way around the Shaman’s black-furred shoulders, shimmering like a cloak of stars around its form. Only, there was something behind it.

  A book, blue and covered with countless mystical hieroglyphs that seemed to spin around the book's pages as if they had a life of their own.

  “Sorry mate, but I’ll be activating Book of Moon~!” Phil jeered as he flipped over his facedown quick-play spell. “Your monster gets flipped into face-down defense position!”

  -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

  Rebecca let out a wild cheer. Even Tilla herself let out a held breath. Her hand drifted away from the deck belted to her waist.

  “Auntie Tilla, Auntie Tilla! That means its gemini effect is back to being locked away, right? Right?” Rebecca bounced in place out of sheer excitement.

  Tilla let out a small smile in response and patted the girl’s head. “Good catch! Yes, it does. Any monster flipped into face-down defense position is considered to have its stats, abilities, and all other modifiers reversed to their original state, unless a card effect specifies otherwise.”

  Rebecca preened under Tilla’s praise. “And since a gemini summon uses up the normal summon, that stupid fuckface can’t flip the Doom Shaman back up until his next turn! With only 2000 defense points, it’s a sure shot for Uncle Phil’s frog to eat its face off!”

  “Indeed.” Tilla pleasantly hummed.

  -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-

  If that man had been himself and not merely possessed by a soul who had been dead for so long it had forgotten how to properly act as a human, Phil was certain that a vein would be pulsing on Kenta Heihachi’s neck.

  “I… end my turn.” Kenta Heihachi gritted out with narrowed eyes.

  “I draw~!” Phil sang out. Sure, he would have liked for his life points to be higher, but it always seemed to strike a special chord in his heart to completely invalidate the hard work of a successful gemini summon. It was like… a deep breath on a beautiful summer morning, or sitting back in his chair after a delicious meal at the end of a long day’s work. It was an utterly satisfying feeling that he relished each time it came up, whether in this world or back on Phil’s own Earth.

  “Well, now that my spell/trap card zones are free, here comes a good friend of mine back from the grave, give it up for Treeborn Frog (100/100) in defense mode!”

  The sound of one person enthusiastically clapping came from Rebecca’s direction.

  “Yes, yes, very nice, very nice, now on to battle! Beelze Frog, clear that Doom Shaman off of my field!”

  Phil’s multicolored frog became a blur of violent movement. Beelze Frog jumped onto the shoulders of Doom Shaman with gnashing jaws, tearing off chunks and sawing through arteries to cause great fountains of black blood to spurt into the air and paint the ceiling.

  First, its horns were shoved down Beelze Frog's gullet as an appetizer, and then its scaled limbs were ripped out of their sockets to be thrown up into the air to meet D.3.S. Frog’s writhing tongue that poked out from between the shadowy ceiling tiles. Finally, there was the beast’s head itself, which was crunched in two between Beelze Frog’s jaws to let the brains inside squirt out against the door.

  “Yum.” Beelze Frog once more said in its monotone voice.

  “In my second main phase, I place a monster in face-down defense position and end my turn.”

  Now it was Kenta Heihachi’s turn. He drew a card, his eyes darting between Phil and his powered-up frog.

  “You force my hand with this. I will savor your regret! I summon Dark Mimic LV1 (100/1000) in defense mode! Metamorphosis will activate from my hand! By tributing my level one monster, this spell will special summon a fusion monster of the same level! Come, oh beast of many eyes, serve your new master found through the rite of conquest! I summon Thousand-Eyes Restrict (0/0)!”

  A strange beast covered in watching eyes floated out of the darkness to face Phil. In its stomach was a gaping maw filled with sharp teeth, and its hands bore fingers that were more knife than flesh. At the center of it all was an eyestalk, at the tip of which sat an unblinking replica of the Millennium Eye.

  “Pegasus’s boss monster in the flesh…” Phil whispered to himself. Then, in a louder voice, he continued to speak. “Looks like the genuine article. So, you guys really were involved in his death.”

  Kenta Heihachi’s head tilted. He grinned a horrible grin. “I wonder? Or is it you, Phillip Jenson, who killed Maximillion Pegasus? Who will the public believe?”

  But the look in Kenta Heihachi’s eyes told the truth. Both men knew exactly who had been behind the eccentric millionaire’s death.

  “The effect of my monster activates. Your Beelze Frog will become equipped to Thousand-Eyes Restrict, increasing its attack points by your frog’s own!”

  “Thought it won’t get the T.A.D.P.O.L.E. boost, as Beelze Frog only gets it while it’s in a monster zone on the field.” Phil pointed out with a snap of his fingers.

  Thousand-Eyes Restrict (0/0 -> 1200/800).

  Kenta Heihachi inclined his head in agreement with Phil’s words.

  “It hardly matters. Restrict, destroy that face-down monster.”

  For a moment, the eldritch creature paused. Its eyestalk twisted around, as if to stare with an empty gaze toward Kenta Heihachi.

  "Oh~, it doesn't like you. It doesn't like you at all." Phil said. A smirk grew on his face. A duel spirit, he'd guess, if it were Pegasus's actual copy of the card. It probably did not take kindly to the death of its master.

  Yet, in the end, the attack went through, despite the creature's hesitation. Thousand-Eyes Restrict launched a scything flurry of blows from its claws toward Phil's face-down monster.

  And Phil’s smile grew.

  “Eat shit, dumbass! Here’s Nightmare Penguin (900/1800)! Not only does it have enough defense to withstand your attack, but it also has an effect to trigger! When it’s flipped face-up, I can return one card you control back to your hand! My target is simple! Good-bye to Thousand-Eyes Restrict!”

  Phil:300 Kenta Heihachi: 1700

  Though Phil felt wrapped in triumph toward seeing the admittedly very scary fusion monster return to the extra deck, he could also feel a sense of… gratitude from the monster itself? Either he was tripping balls, or it really was a duel spirit. Interesting.

  “So… that Dark Mimic took up your normal summon. Got anything to set? Or is it my turn now?”

  Kenta Heihachi took a moment to regain his balance after being knocked backward from battle damage incurred from Thousand-Eyes Restrict attacking Nightmare Penguin. He then shook his head. His turn was over.

  Phil took a quick look over his board. His Beelze Frog was dead, having been sent to the graveyard once Thousand-Eyes Restrict was removed from the field. That left… Nightmare Penguin, Treeborn Frog, and whatever was in his hand.

  “Well, first things first. While Nightmare Penguin is on the field, all water monsters I control gain 200 attack points.”

  Nightmare Penguin (900/1800 -> 1100/1800), Treeborn Frog (100/100 -> 300/100).

  “I’ll switch them both to attack mode.” Phil’s grin grew even wider, threatening to split across his entire face. He revealed a monster in his hand. “Crazy how this happens, huh? I summon Poison Draw Frog (100/100 -> 300/100) in attack mode! Looks like I’ve got game on the field!”

  It was over. The penguin and two frogs crowded around Kenta Heihachi.

  And then they struck.

  Phil: 300 Kenta Heihachi: 0

  As soon as the life point counter reached zero, Phil surged forward to squeeze between the water monsters. Kenta Heihachi was crumpled on the floor, but his expression was still moving. The soul puppeting him was still around. Good. He jammed the heel of his shoe against the chief’s most grievous wound, a ragged gash torn through the flesh of his chest. It had been inflicted at some point during the duel, though Phil could not remember when. Blood welled around his shoe to dye its outside a deep red color.

  “Talk.” Phil calmly spoke. “Red Summer. Where is he?”

  But Kenta Heihachi merely stared back at him with a quizzical smile. It was a rare show of emotion.

  “Why… would I tell you that? Heh, I feel no pain. All that you do will only affect my host.”

  “One word and my aquatic allies devour you, soul and all.” Phil shot back. “I’ve tested it thoroughly by now.”

  Kenta Heihachi coughed out a wad of blood onto his chest. “Do you enjoy it?”

  “As of recently? Every second.”

  “Then enjoy another. I will not betray my brothers. I would ask if you could, but… heh, I hear your brother is much too dead to betray?”

  As his dark mockery ended, a shimmering ball of light floated from Kenta Heihachi’s mouth, darting to and fro through the air to avoid the slavering jaws of Phil’s three monsters. It was not, however, fast enough to leap past the tongue darting out from within the ceiling tiles to catch it in midair like a fly running into sticky paper. A faint scream of fear echoed out from the ball, and then it was drawn into the gaping maw of D.3.S. Frog to leave nothing but silence behind.

  Phil turned to face Tilla and Rebecca, shrugging helplessly. “Pretty hard to torture a guy who doesn’t feel pain. Even with the threat of D.3.S. Frog.”

  “Considering we still have no leads on where the Sons are, and no way to stop the police from continuing their manhunt for you, I don’t fault you for trying.” Tilla said.

  Phil slammed a fist into his palm. “Shit. You have a point. All this for a grand total of no leads, other than finding out for certain who the mole in the police was. At least they’ll have a hard time pinning more crap on me. I don’t suppose leaving the police report we found out on the open will do anything considering they’re already aggro’d on me?”

  The report was in Tilla’s hands. She looked down at it to scan the text once more with her eyes. “No. I don’t think so. Showing them a single piece of paper that could very well be a forgery won’t change anyone’s mind. That’s if they even notice the report.”

  The chief’s body was still unmoving and as quiet as a grave. The two frogs and the penguin directed their attention to Phil, pleading with helpless gazes for his permission to chow down on the fallen man.

  Phil gestured toward the body. "Is he dead? Like, really 100% dead? I guess it wouldn’t be the first time those guys have puppeted a corpse instead of a living person.”

  Nightmare Penguin nodded enthusiastically to Phil’s question. Phil looked at Treeborn Frog.

  “You ain’t lying to me for a quick meal?”

  Treeborn frog earnestly shook its head to signify that no, it was not lying. It took a deep whiff of the body and spoke with a surprisingly sonorous voice.

  “Dead, dead! For quite some time! Two – no, three years dead! Still lots of good bits left!”

  “Alright, get rid of that evidence pronto. I don’t want another murder getting tied to me.”

  “Oh! That’s not all! Uncle Phil, there’s more to it!” Rebecca cheerfully chimed in. She bounced up to Phil. “Watching you trash that asshole felt really, really good! Oh! Oh! And look at what I found in his desk!”

  She raised the floor plan high into the air as an offering to Phil, who grabbed it and quickly skimmed its contents. The complete lack of labels on the plan drew a scowl from Phil.

  “Yeah, you know what, I agree. That did feel great. This floor plan… I haven’t the faintest clue what building it’s for. It’s gotta be a big one. Single story, lots of rooms. A school? No… that would have multiple floors… same with any government buildings large enough to fit the bill. It can't be the Police Station either. The layout is too different for it.”

  Phil helplessly shrugged and rolled up the floor plan to stick in his back pocket for future consideration. No sense twisting his brain into knots while they were still in the middle of enemy territory.

  “And with no chief, the police will be disorganized for the time being.” Tilla lifted a finger to point out. This was true. The body of the dead Police Chief was no longer present in this plane of existence. Phil’s monsters had seen to that themselves. There would be a temporary substitute found for the position, of course, but whoever it was would likely be forced to spend most of their time adjusting to their new responsibilities.

  Phil scratched his chin. “If our luck holds, maybe they’ll be disorganized for enough time that Battle City will pass by before they can adjust? That’d be nice. I don’t want to spend the entire tournament moving around via sewer. Silver lining all around, I’d say. Now, how about we get the hell out of dodge before we get our asses blasted by the rest of the night shift!”

  “Ice cream?” Rebecca directed a pair of puppy dog eyes toward Phil.

  Phil nodded.

  “Ice cream. I need something to wash the taste of blood from my mouth.”

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