Scene 20


Convention Center, Denver, Colorado


After the main benefit, those of us with the special tickets were invited to remain behind. Miss Ritchgarl also made a point to specially invite everyone who was wearing a kilt to also remain, making good on her previous promise.

Ms. Thrush and I were the only members of my team who had the special tickets, so the remainder of my team left the building to ready our transportation. Livingston and Erisianmonkey were going to accompany Ms. Thrush and me. Ms. Starling had given Livingston the bottle of hypnotin antidote in case it was needed.

Ms. Thrush had formulated a plan and we all thought it was brilliant. She had on the choker that she had received. She explained that if Miss Ritchgarl were wearing her perfume, she would also be subject to the hypnotin. Thus, Ms. Thrush should be able to use the choker to influence her.

We first had to wait for the special session to end. Miss Ritchgarl and her entourage made their way around the room, speaking to everyone. She was probably making comments on different clothing combinations, influencing the minds of everyone she spoke to. Fortunately, after the benefit, that influence would be limited to those people in the room and wouldn’t spread to anyone else.

We stayed behind after most of the other guests had left. Miss Ritchgarl noticed us and came over to speak.

“Oh, I’m so glad you’re here,” she said. “I did so want to speak with you about those kilts.”

Ms. Thrush put her plan into action. “Emma, instead of standing around here, it would be so much better if we could go somewhere else to talk. We could sit down, have a few drinks, and talk all we wanted.”

Either the plan was working or Miss Ritchgarl really did think it was a good idea. “That would be marvelous,” she said. “Let me talk with the ladies on my staff.”

Ms. Thrush was quick to respond to that. “By all means, but they don’t need to come along. It would be so much better if we could speak with you alone.”

“You’re right, I don’t need them.” She stepped away to speak with her staff.

“That seemed to work well,” I told Ms. Thrush.

“Yes,” she answered. “I was afraid that she may have had a filter to block the perfume like we did. I guess she figured she wouldn’t need one.”

That did bother me. Why would Miss Ritchgarl allow herself to be subject to the effects of the perfume? She had to know that she would be subjected to its influence at the benefit.

Miss Ritchgarl returned to us. “Okay, I let the girls off for the rest of the night. Where should we go?”

“Let’s slip out the back way,” Ms. Thrush told her. “That way we can avoid the photographers.”

“Great idea, those paparazzi can be so annoying.”

Of course we didn’t tell her that our team was waiting for us. I had arranged for them to meet us at the hotel across the street.

The maze of hallways in the convention center led us to the delivery area. From there we could make our exit.

As we stepped outside, I was suddenly hit over the head and I fell to the ground. At the same time, Ms. Thrush was shoved backwards into Livingston and Erisian, causing them to fall as well.

As I groggily looked up, I saw Miss Ritchgarl being carried away by a large kilted man dressed all in black, except for two bright red letters on the back of his sweater – BM. Stretched over the top of his head was what looked like a large sporran.

Running alongside this man was another kilted man, this one wearing a black kilt. This one had on no headgear and this allowed his long blond hair to flow freely. They were running towards the open door of a delivery van.

Erisianmonkey was the first one on his feet and he took off after the two men.

The big man almost threw Miss Ritchgarl into the van and jumped in after her.

The blond man had to hesitate briefly before he could enter the van and this allowed Erisianmonkey to catch up to him. Just as the man jumped into the van, Erisianmonkey was able to grab the back of his jacket.

Unfortunately, the blond man simply let the jacket slip off of his shoulders and entered the van, leaving Erisianmonkey holding the jacket.

As the van sped away, the blond man leaned out of the open door and shook a rubber chicken at us. I heard him call out, as he drove away, “NOW YOU WILL NEVER STOP ME!!! I HAVE MY QUEEN AND I WILL RULE!!!!!” His maniacal laughter slowly faded as the van drove away.