They make electric mattress pads, you know. Lovely things on cool mornings (and it does so get cold in Florida.)

Check out this video of parkour from the 1930s!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_nPR8MLTe_w

Boy, you really do have Mongols on the brain these days!

This sign is actually local to me.

Somewhere Chaz is laughing his head off...http://www.boingboing.net/2010/06/01/funny-anti-parkour-s.html

Oh.... damn you! I'm trying to work here!

Thank you! That was my big worry, what with not working with a beta. I was afraid I'd screw up someone's character and ruin the story.

Ladies and Gentlemen.... that's a wrap.

It was probably the most interesting parkour course he'd ever tried, and even if he could tell anyone, no one would ever believe him. The even layout of the track and the regular spacing of the cars made it easy to make his way along the track without being seen, and he quickly passed through Leota's séance and the Hall of Doors, stopping briefly in the Conservatory to catch his breath and listen.

The halbard took him completely by surprise.

He yelped and dove to the side, catching himself on the walkway and taking cover behind one of the buggies and drawing his gun. He vaguely remembered seeing it in the hand of the suit of armor, but he didn't think the damn thing was real.

"So, it's the beanpole," Richardson laughed. "I told her that I thought you might make a good substitute if she didn't work. Looks like the Master agrees. Be a good little victim and come on out."

Great. Sol told me not to engage. Looks like nobody told the UNSUB that. Chaz grimaced and tried to peer over the edge of the car. Where was he? Something creaked behind him, and Chaz reacted without thinking, launching himself forward along the track, hearing the whistle behind him as the polearm passed through the space where he'd once been hidden. That was when he noticed  the shadows that the cars were casting. All at once he saw the flaw in Reyes' plan, and realized that hunter had suddenly become prey.

"You want me? Come catch me!" Chaz took off down the walkway, keeping in the light until he head the sound of solid footsteps behind him.  Back up the incline through the Hall of Doors, trying not to jump as the doors around him gibbered and screamed, bulging outward in artificial animatronic threat. The track made a sharp turn just as the Hall of Doors spilled out into the séance, and Chaz ducked behind the corner and dove into a Doom Buggy he'd noticed on his way through the first time, one where the lap bar hadn't lowered. He pressed back into the seat,  holding his breath and listening hard, his gun ready. Shadows had never bothered him before. Now, they were places where the Anomaly could hide.  And the Anomaly had a hell of a big axe...

"Where are you, Beanpole?" Richardson called out. From the sound of it, he was a few cars back and coming closer.  Chaz tipped his head to the side, focusing on the footsteps. When they stopped, he jumped.

"I thought you were supposed to be some kind of special agent, Beanpole," Richardson's voice seemed to come from everywhere, and it took Chaz a moment to realize it was coming from the speakers in the Doom Buggy. Not good. "Aren't special agents supposed to be... well, special? You guys really aren't all that smart. You're ridiculously easy to fool." Overhead, the lights flickered and faded away to darkness. "And even easier to catch."

The lap bar in the Buggy snapped down, catching Chaz across the thighs. Startled, he grabbed at it with one hand, only to find it locked down, trapping him in the seat.

"Do you have a name, Agent Beanpole?"

Chaz turned and stared at the faintly glowing man sitting next to him. He started to raise his gun, but realized that it was a useless gesture. Instead, he slipped the gun back into its holster, and answered calmly, "Charles Villettte."

"Charles. Not Charlie, I assume?" Richardson asked, looking at him curiously. He smiled when Chaz nodded. "I didn't think so. I wouldn't. I hate it when people call me Dave. Nice to meet you, Charles. That was quite impressive, the way you followed me. I've never seen anything like it."

"Ah... thanks." Chaz looked around, peering through the darkness. Where were Sol and Daphne?

"If you're looking for the girl and the man with the fingers, they're locked in the ballroom. And the others are in the control room. I should have known old man Horowitz would poke his nose in. Anyhow, we have a few minutes to talk. What's her name?"

"Who?"

"The blonde who looks like my Connie. I learned all of their names, but I never got hers."

Chaz nodded. Keep him talking. The others would find a way out. "Daphne."

Richardson started to laugh, "You're joking! Really?" He shook his head, "Never would have guessed it. Makes me think of the ditzy redhead from the cartoon. She your girlfriend?"

"No!" Chaz blurted out. "She... she's my friend."

Richardson nodded. "Real good friends, it looks like. No rings. You married?"

"No."

"Didn't think so. That makes this easier," Richardson sighed. "I really didn't enjoy killing those girls. I just.... I need my Connie back. And our boy. I really do hope that you're the one. I don't want to hurt anyone else. I just want them back." He reached toward Chaz, his ghostly hand solidifying as he plucked Chaz' gun from the holster, then fading back to translucency as Richardson rose and floated out of reach, hovering a foot over the walkway. He leveled the gun at Chaz and said, "I am sorry, Charles."

"David," the voice came from out of the darkness, a sing-song soprano that was vaguely familiar to Chaz. The effect that the voice had on Richardson was electric. He jerked, looking around frantically.

"Leota?" he gasped.

"The Master doesn't like what you're doing, David," Leota sang gently.

"The Master will give them back to me if I find the right replacement!" Richardson shouted back.

"You're wrong, David." It was a man's voice now, and Chaz definitely recognized the ringing, resonant tones. He'd heard it often enough on his repeated rides with Lau. Master Gracey, the Ghost Host. "There has been enough blood spilled in my house, David. It's time for you to go."

Richardson went pale.  "...go?" he repeated weakly.

"You are no longer welcome here. Leave now, and never return."

The lights snapped back on, and Richardson dropped heavily to sprawl on  the walkway, the gun falling from his hand and bouncing away; Chaz heard the distant sound of it hitting the ground. The lap bar loosened, and then sprang open, allowing Chaz to get to his feet. He stepped out onto the walkway, crouched and held one hand out to Richardson.

"David?" he said gently. "You can come with me. Let me help."

Richardson looked up and stared at Chaz' hand like he'd never seen one before, then scrambled back, getting slowly to his feet, the rope coils hanging askew across his chest. He shook his head slowly, his eyes wide and panicked.

"No," he moaned softly, "Master, please! Give me another chance! I can find the right one, I swear it!"

"No more!" Gracey's voice boomed out from all around them. "Leave!"

"Goodbye," Leota sang in a taunting sing-song, her voice almost drowned out by a deep, ominous laugh.

 David flinched and moaned, backing away from Chaz, who rose and followed, keeping his hand still extended.

"David, come with me!" he repeated, trying to stay calm. He wasn't sure what was going on, if this was Hafidha's doing, or if Richardson's powers were out of control. From somewhere down the track, he heard Daphne, calling his name. Richardson heard it too, and flinched.

"They're coming for me," he gasped. "The others... they're coming!"

"David, listen to me!" Chaz raised his voice, trying to break through Richardson's panic. "Come with me! I can protect you!"

"No, you can't..." Richardson looked at him and smiled sadly. "Glad I didn't kill you, Beanpole. You're a nice guy. Get out, while you can. I... I deserve this. I was..." he stopped, looking past Chaz, his eyes wide. His face went pale, and he stammered, "Connie?"

Chaz turned, saw nothing, and turned back in time to see Richardson wheel and run, screaming in panic. Before Chaz could move, he watched as Richardson tripped and disappeared over the side of the walkway. The scream was very short. Chaz slowly walked over to the spot and looked down, wincing at the sight of the body dangling a few feet from the ground.

"Villette!"

Chaz looked up to see Todd and Daphne standing in the doorway where the tracks left Leota's séance and passed into the Ballroom.

"Watch your step," he called dully. "It's a long way down."

"The UNSUB?"

Chaz pointed, "Down there. He fell." He waited until they came around to meet him before asking Daphne, "You okay?"

She nodded, "Nothing serious. Headache and some rope burn. Tricia is going to think I'm cheating on her. What happened?"

"I didn't need to hear that, " Chaz murmured. He sighed and shrugged, "Not sure. He started seeing things, and panicked. I tried to stop him..."

Sol nodded, "Sometimes, it just doesn't work the way we want it to." He  pulled his phone out of his pocket and looked at it. "Signal, finally. All right, I'll call this in, get the coroners. One of you call Gates..."

"No need," Jeff called out. He and Hafidha appeared from around the corner. "The monitors came back up a few minutes ago, and we came down."There's an emergency exit across from the ballroom. We can get out that way."

The group started around the track, and Chaz called over his shoulder, "How did you do that, with the voices? If you hadn't, I'd have been the next body in the graveyard."

"What voices?" Jeff asked.

"Leota, and the Ghost Host. Gracey," Chaz answered. "Having them tell him to stop and to get out derailed him entirely."

"Chaz, we were locked in the control room with no control over anything," Hafidha said. "Whatever you heard, we didn't do it."

Chaz stopped short, turning to look at the two behind him, "You didn't?"

"Not a thing."

"Sol, did you hear it?" Chaz turned to see Todd nodding slowly.

"I heard it. Paul Frees' voice, or damn near. Sounded just like the original."

"Impossible," Jeff was shaking his head. "Oh, there's a young man out in California who is redoing the tapes. And he sounds very close to the original. But there's no way..." he stopped, and looked up. "No..."

"Can we go, now that I'm officially creeped out?" Daphne asked.

*

They were met outside the Mansion by Disney security, who bundled everyone but Todd into an unmarked panel van and drove them out of the park and back to the Administration building. In the conference room, Chaz sank into a chair and smiled his thanks at Brady, who shoved a cup of coffee into his hand.

"You okay?" he asked. Chaz nodded and leaned back in the chair, sipping the coffee and watching Faulkner and Daphne, who were talking quietly in the corner.

There was a commotion outside the room, and Erich Strassen walked in. The head of Disney Security looked rumpled and uncomfortable, and he cleared his throat twice before speaking.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I want to offer you Disney's sincerest thanks for your assistance in this... unpleasant matter. Is... ah... the young lady in question all right?"

"I'm fine, thank you," Daphne answered. "Seriously rethinking the Disney vacation, though."

Strassen winced, "Ah... yes. Completely understandable, under the circumstances. Please allow us to offer you our hospitality tonight?" He made the offer in a dull voice, clearly hoping they wouldn't take him up on it.

Faulkner let him squirm for a moment before refusing, "No, thank you. We'll be going back to DC as soon as the paperwork is finished. There is, however, one small detail that you can assist us with."

Strassen looked relieved, then realized that Faulkner was waiting for his answer, "Oh, yes. Of course. What can we do?"

"Minna Barck. Rehire her."

Strassen's jaw dropped, "Miss Barck?  But that's..."

"A suitable reward for the woman who help apprehend a dangerous serial killer," Faulkner finished smoothly.

"If not, I'm sure that Mike Thomas at the Sentinel would be very interested in how you handle felony assault and murder on Disney property," Reyes added, smiling. Chaz looked at him, then hurriedly looked down at his coffee before the sight turned him to stone.

Strassen was sweating. He looked around the room, then nodded quickly. "I'll... see what I can do." He fled, and Faulkner looked around, gathering them all with her eyes.

"Let's go home."

*

(Six weeks later)

"Briefing Room, please.”

Once they were all around the table, Faulkner cleared her throat, "We've had an... interesting note from Miss Barck."

It took Chaz a moment to remember who Miss Barck was. Daphne beat him to it, "How is she?"

"Doing well. She wanted to thank us for getting her rehired. She's working on the Mansion renovation, she says. And... she wanted to pass on a message," Faulkner looked down at the laptop in front of her.  "It's for you, Chaz."

"Me?" Chaz asked.

"She says that she's seen David Richardson. He asked her to thank you, and tell you that you were right. He's with his wife and son now, and happy. " Faulkner closed the laptop and licked her lips. "That's all."

Without a word, the others filed out of the room, leaving Chaz sitting there, staring out the window.

About two-thirds of the way done. Tomorrow or Friday, I think.

I've come to the conclusion that I'm never going to get caught up if I try and keep reading on the computer. Are there any plans to bootleg Season 2 as ebooks?

That halbard is one of the "If you don't know the HM, you'd never know to expect it" things. There's a suit of armor at the head of the Endless Hallway, and it rattles the halbard at you as you pass. Used to be, back in the first days of the Mansion, there was actually a costumed cast-member stationed there, who was supposed to jump out at the guests as they passed. They changed it to a stationary suit of armor when the liability got to be to much. Startled guests would take swings at the cast-member and too many of them connected!

AND... the next section is up!

I'll try and wrap this thing over the next couple of days. I think there's only one section left. Perhaps two...

David shrugged, "If it doesn't, then I'll find the right one." He stopped, cocked his head to one side, and grinned. "Maybe... maybe the Master doesn't want a woman. Maybe he wants a man. If you don't work, then I'll try your beanpole friend. It's got to be one of you. Now, let me get this rope fixed, so I can have you on your way."

As Daphne watched, he slowly faded to a shimmering shadow, and flew off the table and up into the shadows, vanishing from sight.

Somehow, on the way to the Haunted Mansion, the teams were rearranged. At Todd's insistence, Hafidha ended up going with Jeff to the control room. He and Chaz would, as he put it, go ghost-hunting.

"There's one thing I have to ask," Jeff said as they got out of the Disney van outside the back of the Mansion. "It's a lot, and if you have to ignore it to save your friend, then please, do so."

"What?" Todd asked.

"Try not to shoot the glass?" Jeff suddenly looked very nervous. Todd sighed and nodded.

Chaz frowned, then remembered Todd's sketch. "You mean the glass for the Ghost illusion?"

"Yes," Jeff nodded. "If you can avoid it. It's the largest single pane of glass in the world, and we'd have to take the Mansion apart to replace it. If it can even be replaced. I'm not altogether certain it can be."

"If we can avoid it, we will. No promises," Todd drew his gun and nodded at Chaz.

"I understand. Do you remember how you have to go?"

"I've got it," Chaz answered.

"You get the lights on," Todd added.

Jeff nodded and unlocked the door, opening it to reveal the darkness inside. Silently, the four slipped into the Mansion, the door closing behind them with a soft click.

*

It was still too damn cold in the Mansion. What little light filtered through the overhead tracks and silent, abandoned Doom Buggies did little to pierce the gloom. Chaz could very well believe that there were nine hundred and ninety-nine grim grinning ghosts wandering these halls, if it weren't for the brightly-colored props that he kept on finding with his flashlight. Ahead of him, Todd stopped and waited for him to catch up.

"Two doors, he said," Todd whispered. "We need to flank Richardson. Go around, wait 'til I make a move."

Chaz nodded and slowly made his way through the dark, trying not to shiver too badly, trying not to worry. Daphne was fine, he told himself. Just fine. He found the door and turned off his flashlight, slipping inside and waiting in the shadows behind one of the dancers. At least he'd been ready for them. It would have been embarrassing to jump out of his skin because of a mannikin on a turntable. The ballroom lay before him, separated only by the single pane of glass. It was a good vantage point; from here, he could see Daphne, bound to a chair at the head of the table. On the table, translucent and glowing, was Richardson. He was looking up, and doing something with his hands. When he stepped back, Chaz could see the noose hanging from the ceiling.

"That took longer than I thought it would. I apologize for keeping you waiting, my dear," Richardson said. He stepped from the table and hovered in mid-air for a moment before slowly sinking to the floor. As his feet touched the ground, the glow vanished. He held one hand out to Daphne, "It's time for you to meet the Master."

"I wouldn't," Todd stepped into the ballroom, his gun raised and aimed at Richardson. "Put the gun down, David. We don't want to hurt you."

Richardson took a step back and faded slightly into glowing translucency, "Oh, let me guess. You're here to help?" he asked, his voice tart. In one quick motion, he drew the gun at his waist and aimed it at Daphne.  "Your bullets won't hurt me. But mine still work. So you put your gun down, and get out of my Master's house."

Chaz swore softly, his mind racing. He wasn't looking forward to finding out just how effective ghost bullets were on humans. And h was fairly certain that Richardson was right. Anything they threw at him would bounce off or pass right through. There had to be some way...

The idea hit him all at once, and he stepped out of the shadows and into the ballroom, drawing his own gun. Todd saw him and tried to wave him off, but Chaz shook his head and took aim at the single pane of glass.

"Drop it, David," he called out. Richardson turned, and his jaw dropped.

"No..." His aim on Daphne wavered, and he took a step towards Chaz. For a moment, Chaz could have sworn that the glow surrounding Richardson faded.

"Drop the gun and get down on the ground," Todd said, taking over with a short nod in Chaz's direction. "We only want to help you, David."

"Then let me have her!" Richardson shouted, moving closer to Daphne. "Let me give her to the Master, so I can have my wife and son back!"

From where he was standing, Chaz could see Daphne's face, see her as she winked at him, then focused on Richardson. Immediately, he knew she was waiting for an opening. How was he supposed to give it to her?

"It doesn't work like that, David," Chaz said, his voice low, his thoughts racing. "You can't expect Master Gracey to take an unwilling victim."

Richardson glared at him, "You don't know what you're talking about." He took another step towards Daphne, bringing him almost close enough to touch her.  "She's perfect...."

Later, Chaz would swear that two things happened almost simultaneously: Daphne lashing out with both feet, knocking Richardson back and  sending the gun flying,  and every light in the Mansion coming on with almost supernova brightness. Richardson stumbled back, looked at his empty hands, then up at Todd, who was coming closer, his gun still at the ready.

"No!" Richardson backed up a step, then vaulted over the table, sending dishes and candelabras flying in every direction. He hit the ground running, and disappeared behind the enormous pipe organ that stood at one end of the ballroom.

"Villette, follow him! Do not engage!" Todd snapped, but Chaz was already running, following Richardson up the hidden stairs and out onto the ride track. Richardson was no where to be seen, but Chaz could hear retreating footsteps ringing on the narrow, metal walkway, heading towards the beginning of the ride. He looked down at the grating and scowled; if he ran after Richardson, the man would know immediately that there was someone following him, and he knew the mansion better than Chaz did. There had to be hiding places, shadows that not even the bright over-head lights could reach. Following without making any noise and without Richardson getting the drop on him was going to be challenging. Unless.... Chaz looked at the Doom Buggy next to him and a slow grin started.  Holstering his gun, he quickly scrambled up the side of the Buggy, judged the distance to the next one, and jumped.

It was probably the most interesting parkour course he'd ever tried, and even if he could tell anyone, no one would ever believe him. The even layout of the track and the regular spacing of the cars made it easy to make his way along the track without being seen, and he quickly passed through Leota's séance and the Hall of Doors, stopping briefly in the Conservatory to catch his breath and listen.

The halbard took him completely by surprise.

Cliff Evelyn (I don't know who this is)
Shag Daniel (he spends just too much time dead for my tastes)
Marry Indy.

So how about Lady Hackers?

Theora Jones
Toshiko Sato
Lisbeth Salander

Oh... crap.

Sorry. Got distracted. I'll get right to it.