Broom and Wax cut around to the front of the Silk Love office building, while The Captain and I sneak through the parking lot towards the rear.

"I don't understand. Can you explain it to me again?"

"Marlon, we don't have time for this."

"I just feel like I've missed something."

She stops, ducked down beside a black dwarf gem car.

"Right after the attack, while the city peacekeepers–"

"The white coats."

"Yes, the white coats... let me finish." She takes a moment to reign in her annoyance. "While the white coats cordoned off the restaurant and the surrounding streets, I received a call from someone within the ministry. They said: Blight Rock Factory District. Silk Love. Alive for now. When I tried to call back, the recipient couldn't be found."

"I think I follow. You found me in Blight Rock after searching four different abandoned factories." I look at the quaint five story office building. "Did anyone search this place before?"

"Come on," she says, continuing our infiltration. "We'd searched, but found nothing. After you said they mentioned the crevasse, I sent Wax back while I took you to get patched up. She found more of these Team Rocket people using a supposedly unused loading dock."

"Okay, okay, but who called in the tip?"

"All I know is it was a feminine voice."

"That doesn't narrow it down at all."

"I know. Now stop with the questions. If you're goin in with me, you need to focus." She reaches into her jacket and pulls out a handgun with sides that unfolds as she hands it to me. "Do you know how to use this?"

It looks like a WWII German luger and a crossbow had a baby.

"I think so. Business end and trigger, right?"

"Right. Here's the clip." Handing me the strange round magazine, she holds my gaze. "I'm breaking a dozen rules bringing you along, but I don't have anyone I trust to leave you with and I can't sit tight somewhere with you, hoping they find my sister and Obera in time."

"I get it," I assured her. "Keep my head down and focus. Let's get our girls."

I'd spent years training with my dad, honing my skills and senses, but I'd refused to go into the family business. Now here I am on a hunt. He's going to love the irony... if I survive to tell the tale.

She scans the parking lot then pulls out a rectangular stone and whispers into its flat surface.

"Vainglory, move in."

We wait by the loading docks for about ten minutes before an alarm goes off at the front of the building. At first nothing happens. Then a side door opens and a centaur wearing the black Team Rocket uniform steps out into the night. She scans the dock area, then trots towards the parking lot. As soon as she's clear, we rush to the door and slip inside.

Inside we find huge crates and palettes stacked high with plastic wrapped cosmetic boxes with Ada Silk's face stamped on them. Weaving through them we pass a dozen of these Team Rocket resistance weirdos. One or two are armed, but most walk or slither about empty-handed, which doesn't necessarily mean unarmed when everyone is potentially a ball of claws and tentacles.

We search the huge warehouse space until we come to an empty office overlooking a factory floor. As soon as I glance out the window, I hiss and duck down. Propped on its side is an eight-foot tall marble statue of a man with tentacles coming from his chest. There is no doubt in my mind that the horrifying sculpture is the thing that snatched Letty. I say this to The Captain and she peeks her head up to scan the room.

"I don't see Colette or Obera," she says.

"Me either, but at least we're in the right place."

"I don't see any guards down there. Come on, let's see if we can find some clues."

We locate a flight of stairs down and scour the factory floor. Conveyor belts and bottling machines, box labelers and plastic wrap, and large chemical vats. Everything is clean and in good repair. Nothing like you'd expect in an abandoned factory.

"I thought Ada Silk was a matchmaker," I say, messing with the valve to one of the vats. "What's with all the chemicals?"

"Her company sells skin care products and love potions. They're how she got into the matchmaking business."

"Wow... so love potions, real love potions, exist here?" I trail my hand along the contour of the vat, following it around to pipes and hose at the back. "So how do they work? Do you drink it or is it like a perfume? Wait, I think I've found something!"

The wall looked normal on our first pass, but at this angle it looks completely different. The best way I can explain it is the scene out of Labyrinth when she's wandering through the maze and the worm shows her she's been walking right past openings. I walk over and reach forward. My hand touches thin air, just like in the movie. Beyond the wall is a hall so perfectly painted that even standing in front of the opening it's nearly invisible.

"How did we miss that?" The Captain asks as she comes up beside me. "This is a very old technique no one uses anymore. We need to be cautious. Someone went to a lot of trouble to hide this section from prying eyes."

"I'm learning things are rarely what they seem in this place... we can't take anything for granted."

A klaxon sounds and lights flash at the end of the hall. A loud, snarling voice echoes down the hall: ORGANIC PURGE WILL COMMENCE IN T-MINUS TWO MINUTES.

"Something tells me that is not good."

I hurry down the hall in one direction and The Captain goes in the other.

"Don't go too far, Marlon!"

"I'll stay where you can see me, but we have to move quickly."

"Two minutes is not enough time."

"It's even less already."

Our voices act as lifelines as we draw further and further away. Just when I contemplate turning back, I find a glass window. Obera and Colette are on the other side, chained to chairs and unconscious. They've placed a weird helmet on Letty's head, no doubt to keep her deadly gaze under control. Gas slowly pours into the room as the loud voice counts down. I look around, but I can't find a door or any way in.

"Captain, I've found them!" I shout over the countdown. "Hurry."

ORGANIC PURGE IN T-MINUS ONE MINUTE.

When I see her sprinting down the hall, I turn attention back to the glass. The gas is building up and I can barely see their legs. They go into convulsions, first Letty then Obera.

"We've gotta find a way in!"

As I gesture for The Captain to hurry, Shadows roil into the hall like a crashing wave and slam her into the wall. They wrap around and drag her up through paint and brick.

"Where is that fucking American?" Frost says as he floats into the hall. The side of his head is leaking shadow and his eyes are fiery red pits.

ORGANIC PURGE IN T-MINUS FORTY-FIVE SECONDS.

The Captain pushes off the wall, lunging towards Frost only to be smacked down by a shadowy tendril. Her snakes bite at him, but are just out of reach. He raises his hands and the shadows rush to the ceiling only to crash down, crushing her against the floor tiles.

I quickly load the mini-crossbow and click off the safety. "Hey, Count Chocula, I'm over here!"

In the room, Colette and Obera cough violently. The gas is so high, I can only see their faces.

ORGANIC PURGE IN T-MINUS FORTY SECONDS

Frost looks up and I feel the weight of his power hit me like a burning wind.

Fuck. What's the plan? What's the plan?

"I'm gonna drain you dry, blood bag," he hisses as he flies towards me.

I glance from Frost to the girls and back. He flashes his fangs and I start shooting. The first bullet hits him in the chest, the second in the shoulder. Spinning out of his path, I shift my aim and shoot the window. Frost hits the ground and the glass shatters, sending the gas pouring into the hallway.

The stuff burns like a raging mosquito bite, rushing along the skin as the gas seeps into everything. I drop the empty mini-crossbow and vault over the sill into the room.

The gas crawls down my throat, burning my chest. Half-blind, I free Letty and carry her to the window. Hands appear and take her from me. I have no time to wonder who they belong to. Chest on fire and razor blades in my throat, I rush over to free Obera. I can't carry her, but I try. Dragging her to the window, I croak for help just before I collapse, My skin and eyes sizzling like fried eggs.