Louis was unmistakably shaken. Startled, to say the least. To see his three fellow teammates up there on display by the despicable Dr. Doomore. He was incensed.

But, Louis was a professional. He had faced adversity in his day. Much adversity. And he had gotten through it. He calmed himself. The mission was what mattered. And, if he could save his friends, all the better.

He pressed the button on his earpiece once more.

"Percy, we need to get our three out of here. I'm going to the bar to communicate with Steve. Stand by."

Louis walked up to the bar, to a red-faced Steve.

"Well, hello there." Louis smiled at Steve. "I'd just love a glass of chardonnay. What do you recommend?"

Steve looked at Louis. Did he recognize him?

As he waited for Steve to respond to his request, Louis asked, "So too bad about the porpoise exhibit. Interesting about our three friends, eh?"

"fffft" Louis blew a hair out of his face as his waited for Steve to acknowledge him/her. The wig was making Louis sweat.

And his feet. Ugh, these high heels! How did women wear these? He was about to die!

Please give me some chardonnay, thought Louis, willing Steve to respond.

Just as he was about to repeat his request, he heard a voice to his left.

"These events are so tiring, aren't they?"

Louis looked to his left and saw a tall, semi good-looking man in his mid-fifties.

Oh no, is this guy coming onto me?

Louis smiled his best smile. His most feminine smile.

"Why yes, I agree! I'm absolutely parched after all this excitement!"

The man smiled and said, "What are you drinking? This one's on me."

"Oh, I thought the drinks were on the house." Louis still batted his fake eyelashes toward the stranger.

"Oh. Of course." laughed the man. "I'm Rodger. I don't think we've met?"

"I'm Janine Garnier," offered Louis.

The man stared at Louis.

lol, sorry friends.

Also, I will try to post after work today.

"One chardonnay for the lady," Steve said as he slid the glass toward the woman in front of him.

The man next to her stuffed a bill into the tip jar on the bar.

He wasn't certain, but he thought it might have been Louis in disguise.

There will surely be a note on that bill, he thought to himself.

He was stunned by what had just transpired. Ryan, Carmen and Nene. Captured.

He was also possibly still reeling from what happened with Doomore on that private tour.

Snap out of it!

I need to reach in and pull that bill out and read it as casually and discreetly as possible.

Or I'll just distract the woman and go for it.

"What a lovely necklace you have on," Steve remarked.

When the woman looked down at it, he made his move. He snatched the bill out of the jar, quickly scanning it and seeing nothing out of the ordinary.

"Must be invisible ink," he said to himself.

"Hmm?" said the man. He wondered what this bartender was doing.

"Oh, nothing," Steve replied. "I've never seen these new bills yet."

"From 1965?"

Steve said nothing, smiled and placed it back in the jar.

"And what can I get you for yourself, sir?" he asked the man. "One of my signature drinks? Perhaps the 1-2-3 Danger Evacuation Operation?"

The woman watched the man's reaction.

"Um," the man started. "Sure, let's do that."

Let's do this, Louis.

"Excuse me, ma'am," Steve said as he hopped over the bar past the woman.

Steve grabbed the man by the arm to lead him away, but the man stood firm.

"Whatever are you doing?!?" he shouted. "Unhand me, sir!"

The man took a swing at Steve with his free hand.

Louis is really getting into this character! He probably won't be pulling any punches. Probably wants to make it look real.

The swing was coming at him fast. Could Steve "duck" out of the way in time?

ROLL CALL!

Christian @ 24/6/2022 8:08

lol, sorry friends. Also, I will try to post after work today.

or before work lol

4 to Christian

"Oh, yoo hoo... bartender!" Louis called out in his high-pitched melodic voice. "Young man.. hello?"

He inwardly cringed as he watched the man take a swing at Steve.

Louis folded Steve's forgotten earpiece inside a dollar bill and held it out toward him.

"Young man, this chardonnay is soooo good, I want you to have another tip."

Louis smiled brightly hoping to distract Steve and the man.

Percival was still sat in the catering van amongst Candice and the plethora of porpoise costumes. His wing trembled as he lifted the headset off his head and carefully folded it before stuffing it into the oversized breast pocket on his Hawaiian shirt. Circumstances...had shifted, to say the least. There was no longer room to sit back and call the shots from the sidelines. He was going to have to get his wings extra dirty on this one.

Percival sighed as he took a long look down at his laptop wallpaper, a selfie of him and Carmen from just the other day, eating street corn by the wingful.

"Girl, you drive me crazy..." he sniffled as a single tear rolled down his cheek, but his expression soon turned to one of resolve.

"I'm coming for you baby!" his wing clenched into a fist as he emphatically left the van behind and marched towards the manor.

"WHO? WHO? WHO?" the great owl at the door demanded.

"Who am I? Well, you can call me...Gustavo Fleck. Check the list."

The owl swiveled its head around, checked the computer screen behind him, then swiveled back to face Percival.

"Hoo." it nodded before handing Percival a drink voucher. The hunter behind him unlatched the velvet rope and ushered Percival into the manor.

His eyes immediately locked with Carmen's from across the room, only there wasn't much looking back at him but a couple of deadened, empty eyes. He knew time was running low, so he had to take the first opening he could find. There was no time for elaborate schemes.

"Excuse me, sir? I believe I've made a bit of a mess of things in the restroom down the hall! Hahahaha sorry about it!!" Percival told the hog wearing a janitor's uniform who was passing by.

"I hate my fucking job." he snorted as he walked on over to the restroom to investigate. Percy followed behind at a safe distance, eyeing the keys dangling off the pig's belt all the way there. Percy looked both ways before discreetly following him into the bathroom.

He was going to really get his wings dirty now.

[ROLL CALL!]

My rolls were not nice rolls. lol

Boc, have a 3 :P

JJ @ 24/6/2022 17:26

4 to Christian

Steve spent so much time thinking about how much Louis was getting into character, to actually evade the punch completely. It didn't help that the lady was also holding money out at him, and so Steve took a hit in the side of the head.

It didn't hurt much.

He was more concerned with the dollar bill the woman had been waving at him.

The man just stood there, clearly annoyed by the situation.

Steve took the dollar bill and found an earpiece inside.

"Wha???" Steve stared at it, and then at the lady.

She winked at him.

A gift from Percy?

He must have somehow gotten this woman to deliver it to him.

Finally, some communication.

Unless...

...nah, can't be.



He discreetly put in the earpiece and was ready to save his friends and get out of there.

What we need...

...is a diversion!

He looked back at the bar and an idea started forming.

I hope this works, he thought.

ROLL CALL!

oh my

5 to Christian