CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

"We spent three hours walking around that place. Beast just couldn't pick up her scent," said Lissa. "There's so much there. Animals, food, sawdust, all of it. He struggled, poor guy."

They looked over at the animal, still panting from the heat. He had a huge water bowl filled with ice chips and water and some sliced apples in another bowl.

"It was the monkeys," said Erin. "They literally took her by the hand and led her out of that ring. It was like a horror version of The Wizard of Oz. We couldn't see where she went, but they led her from that circus."

"The monkeys must be trained," said Sniff. They all looked back at Beast. "He's okay. He knows that he couldn't find the scent and feels like he didn't do his job."

"He did his job," said Erin. "He was such a good boy. There was just too much there, and he couldn't find what he needed."

"We need to send the other teams tomorrow, Nine," said Ani. "Erin is right. There's a lot there, and it's too much for just one team."

"I agree, but you guys need to hang back a day or two. We'll send teams two and three tomorrow. Sniff? Can the monkeys be trained to bring people to someone?" asked Nine.

"They can be trained to do just about anything," said Sniff. "They're animals, and monkeys are very, very smart animals. They think much like humans and act in the same ways. They don't know right from wrong. What they know is if they do something well, they get a reward of some kind. We looked on the drone footage and didn't find any signs of the animals being abused."

"But why hasn't someone noticed the animals walking away with people? I mean, if that's how they're taking the women, why didn't someone make that connection sooner?" asked Ani.

"Maybe because they were all turning to leave as the animals were walking away," said Ghost. "If you look at the drone footage, once the monkeys take her hand and wave at the crowds, everyone starts to leave. She must think it's part of the act, and so does the audience, so they leave."

"But she left her children," said Lissa.

"She did. There was a performer near her. Maybe he assured her that she'd be right out," said Ian.

"Or maybe they threatened her," said Ani.

"I think we need to send someone in to investigate that entire site. After hours," said Ghost. Gaspar nodded at his friend.

"Alright. Trak, Angel, and Vince. Use the stealth suits if you have to. Just try and find those women. They have to be there somewhere."

"Let's go, Mr. Mysterious," smirked Vince, looking at Trak. "I need for you to do your famous tracking exhibition. Time to turn on the charm."

"I don't have charm." Angel laughed, slapping his friend's back.

"We know, buddy. But we still love you."

An hour before the gates were to close, the three men bought tickets and walked onto the grounds. When the announcements were made that the event was about to close, they stepped into the bathrooms, donned the stealth suits, and walked out, waiting for the pedestrians to leave.

"Why is this thing cool?" asked Vince.

"Thank you for noticing. This is your captain speaking," said Code. "Our child geniuses figured out a way to incorporate cooling technologies that operate like mini-air-conditioners in the mesh of the fabric. You'll stay a comfortable seventy degrees no matter what the temperature is outside."

"You couldn't tell us that before?" growled Trak.

"Uh, well. I could have. But this was way more fun."

Angel and Vince chuckled under their breath, watching as the lights slowly turned out, the midway locking their games and prizes up.

"Let's move. Around the tents toward the back," said Trak.

The area designated for performers only was filled with travel trailers. Workers, competitors, and owners were all in the same area. As the darkness covered the area, small fires were lit, patio lights hanging from awning overhangs on the trailers. Most had small generators keeping the insides of the trailers cool at night.

They could hear competitors talking about what had gone well that day and the things they needed to be better at. When they approached the trailer of the O'Noth circus, there was a small circle of people standing around.

"You guys did great today," said Sean. "We're in second place right now, but we know we can make up the difference in the next few days. Big bonuses for everyone if we win this, so I really need for everyone to pull out a few new tricks."

The crowd of people smiled and nodded, but one man was visibly unhappy.

"What's wrong, Comber?" asked Patrick.

"That was the second lady who disappeared after my monkeys walked her to the back. What the hell is happening? Do you know that they could take my monkeys away from me if they suspect that they're doing something?"

"First of all, they're our monkeys. We bought and paid for them. You just train them," said Patrick. "Secondly, no one is taking the monkeys. I get it. Two women disappeared, but that's not our fault. We needed them to sign the releases for videos. That's all. Where they went after they left us, no one knows."

"Someone knows," said one of the acrobats. The two brothers glared at her.

"What the hell does that mean?"

"I mean, someone must know what happened to them. Their poor kids are all alone now. I think it's terrible."

"Yes. Yes, it's terrible," said Sean. "We're all feeling the same thing. It's terrible. But we need to focus on winning. That's it."

"Alright. Long day tomorrow," said Patrick. "Get some rest. There's hot food in the mess tent."

The brothers watched as their team walked away, whispering and nodding to one another. What they were totally unaware of was the three men watching them in stealth suits from the sides of the trailers.

"Do you think they suspect?" asked Patrick.

"No. There's no way. We didn't touch that woman," smirked Sean. "The monkeys did."

"Yeah, but we need those damn monkeys. He's right about that. We can't let the authorities take them if they suspect something."

"Don't worry about it. We're going to win this and move on for a while. The mummy exhibit is winning people over. I understand we've had a lot of foot traffic for that one."

"Yep, record-breaking ticket sales. We need to win tomorrow, and the rest should be smooth sailing. What about those guys that were here the other day?"

"Don't worry about them. We've got this."

"It makes me nervous," said Patrick.

"It makes you nervous because your fucking drug-addicted son nearly ruined it for us," said Sean.

"Don't speak of my son that way! Don't speak of the dead in that way!"

"He's dead, Patrick. Gone. We wouldn't have had this issue if that damn truck driver hadn't recognized him. Shit. Who knew your kid was going to church every Sunday and confessing."

His brother glared at him, shaking his head.

"He was a good boy. Someone got him hooked on those drugs."

"I'm not going to argue with you. You'll never agree that it was his poor decisions that nearly ruined this for us. Get some sleep. It's going to be a long day tomorrow."