It Happened One Heist

Roses

Monty always seemed so normal then... Maggie thought as her taxi drove through the rain.

There was a roll of thunder in the distance. Just this past week Dr. Margaret Beckhert had seen a newspaper headline that made her heart sink. Lord Monty Fiske, better known as the super criminal Monkey Fist, had met his demise encased in stone.

She hadn't seen or been in contact with Monty in over fifteen years, not since that time she spent abroad in her university days. She was well-aware of his reputation as a power-mad villain who had been apprehended multiple times by Team Possible. Yet the news of his death made her sad, nonetheless.

And there she was, in the back of a taxi with a bouquet of red roses resting in her lap, the plastic crinkling as the vehicle bounced. She rested her chin on her palm as she stared out into the mountainous countryside, the heavy rain creating a mist around them. Her recent divorce had already been weighing her down, and the news of an old friend passing just made it worse.

If she had still been living with Jeremy Hawthorne he probably would have been telling her to pay no attention to the sad news. She recalled Jeremy hadn't gotten the chance to meet Monty, yet he still wasn't at all fond of him. However she no longer had to put up with his jealous nonsense, and she could do whatever she wanted now.

For now, she just wanted to pay respects to the remaining Fiske family, and also ask them a favor.

The cab slowly came to a halt outside a set of large iron gates.

"This is it, ma'am!" said the cab driver. "Fiske Castle. Don't know why you'd want to come here. The loony who owned it turned up dead."

"I have my reasons," Maggie replied as she paid her cab fare.

She was glad to have brought her umbrella. The driver helped her retrieve her suitcase from the trunk.

"You sure you're not gonna need a ride back, ma'am?" the driver asked again, adjusting his hat in the rain.

"I'll manage. Thank you."

The driver shrugged. "Eh, suit yourself."

As the cab drove away at a cautious speed, Maggie inspected the iron gates and found them ajar. Odd. She would have expected them to be chained up given the circumstances. It was still quite a walk up the path to the castle doors, so she had to deal with the cuffs of her slacks getting soaked on the way up.

She wasn't sure what the usual protocol was on visiting a place like this, assuming there was anyone living in it. She tried the large heavy knocker, knocking three times with a frighteningly thunderous echo.

No answer, and she was only getting more soaked the more she waited.

She pushed the heavy door open with her shoulder, shaking out her umbrella as soon as she was inside. There was no welcome mat or the like to wipe her shoes, and she didn't want to ruin the burgundy carpet at her feet. She resolved to remove her boots and leaned them against the wall with her umbrella and her suitcase. If there was a host to speak of she was sure they'd understand. She paused to shake out the cuffs of her beige slacks, wishing she had went with the black ones instead.

Maggie picked up the bouquet again and called out, "Hello? Anyone here?"

Her voice echoed through the cavernous halls and she felt a chill. There were no lights or candles to illuminate the place. The overcast daylight of the late afternoon barely lit the way through the castle windows.

However there was a faint but distinct warm glow at the end of the great hall. A flame burning in the fireplace. Someone was here. They had to be.

Maggie moved forward, and there was an odd chittering sound from above. She looked up and perched in the rafters weren't birds, but monkeys dressed in ninja attire, all watching her like attentive little gargoyles and grotesques.