#He grew a donut tree by planting a half eaten donut and no one knows how it that even worked

[dietmimo]

Plant boi be planting. 🌱

[continuitygains]

Sleeping in Bathtubs

The beautiful artwork is by the amazing and talented @jaimistoryteller��!! <3

Summary: Feeling lonely in his new apartment and needing some normality, Peter starts fostering kittens. It ends up becoming therapeutic for not only him but all of the Avengers and a certain mercenary.

'Peter pulled one of the kittens close to his chest and kissed her head. "They're so relaxing," he said, his voice breaking through the silence. Wade nodded in agreement, but didn't take his eyes off of the gray kitten that had settled into his lap and was blinking sleepily.'

Tags: Fluff, Minor Violence, Hurt/Comfort, Cat Cuddles

Word Count: 5004

Rating: Teen and Up

(Written for the Spideypool Big Bang @spideypoolfanfic​)

Read on AO3

As he walked to the shelter, Peter felt like he might throw up. Good Lord, he felt almost as nervous as he had when he was joining the Avengers. Why had he thought this would be a good idea? He knew that he’d had a lot of downtime lately, especially with his new job as Tony’s intern and the sudden lull in crime, but he didn’t know if he’d have enough free time to give this cat and her kittens the attention and socialization that they deserved.

He’d first seen the flyer when he was walking back home after a long day of going over schematics for Tony’s new invention. It was in the window of a small animal shelter, and loudly proclaimed in Comic Sans, ‘FOSTER HOMES WANTED!’ for dogs and cats in the shelter. 

Peter had lingered in front of it, rereading the details a few times before continuing on his way.

It wasn’t until he’d walked by the shelter five days in a row that he gave into temptation and went inside, asking the chipper woman behind the desk about fostering animals. A half hour’s worth of paperwork and a home check was all it took for Peter to be in this situation now, almost a week later, ready to pick up a mother and her kittens.

Next to the shelter’s front desk was a large crate with his name written on a sticky note on top of it. There wasn’t much movement, and when Peter crouched down to look inside, he was greeted by wary green eyes and four sleeping kittens snuggled up next to their mother. His heart melted.

He chatted with one of the volunteers for a few minutes, hearing what she said about their personalities and going over the paperwork. He thanked her, and then started the walk back home.

The walk only gave him more time to start freaking out. Every time he shifted the crate a bit more than usual or heard an annoyed meow, his blood pressure spiked and the nervousness grow.

After what felt like hours, Peter was finally in his apartment. He gingerly set the cats down—who were now awake and making restless noises in the crate—and rushed to take off his shoes and jacket. When he dropped his bag, he picked the crate back up, making soothing noises at them, and took them into the bathroom, closing the door leading to his bedroom and the hallway before sitting down and opening the cage.

He curled and uncurled his toes in anticipation as he waited for the cats to come out.

The mother cat’s gray head slowly peeked out, wide eyes darting around the room and searching for any sort of danger, lingering on Peter. A kitten came tumbling out, blinking and looking around as well.

Peter couldn’t look away as he watched the mother and the kittens emerge from the crate. He made sure to pet the mother first so she knew him, and made sure she could see what he was doing as he picked up one of the kittens and held it to his chest. Peter felt like his heart was going to explode out of his chest as he stared in wonder at the almost unbelievably small face blinking owlishly at him.

His ass and back hurt from sitting on the tiled floor, but he was unwilling to disturb the curious kittens that were crawling on his legs and up his Hoodie. He was as still as a statue, letting them explore and tug at a loose thread on his pants.

Later that night, after Peter had eaten his dinner and finished responding to a few emails for his job, he couldn’t help but fret over the kittens and their mother. Logically, he knew that they would be fine to sleep alone, and if something happened, he’d be able to hear it from his bed. But he couldn’t stop tossing and turning in his bed, staring at the ceiling and startling every time there was any sort of suspicious noise in the bathroom.

Finally, he gave up. He stuffed two pillows under his arms and grabbed a few blankets before going into the bathroom. He made a makeshift bed in the bathtub, and settled down to spend the night.

It took a while to find a position that was comfortable, but almost all thoughts of the discomfort left as the sounds of purring filled the air. Peter propped himself up enough to see the mother and her kittens in their bed, all of them curled up. The kittens were lined up like sardines, nursing and kneading.

His chest was lighter than it’d ever been. The tension that usually ran through his body was gone, and the usual jitteriness that lingered in his limbs was nowhere to be felt. It even felt like his thoughts were lethargic, his brain not racing a million miles a minute to try and plan out everything he needed to do. He was able to just focus on the little rumbling purrs coming from the kittens and the mother’s gentle, slow blinks.

After only moments, his eyes started to droop, and then he fell into a deep sleep.

***

He knew that his secret wouldn’t be a secret forever, and a few days later, he had Clint and Natasha waiting on his doorstep expectantly.

“We heard you had cats of the kitten variety,” Clint said expectantly.

Peter blinked at them, sleepiness making his thoughts fuzzy. “Uh, yeah,” he stammered, opening the door wider. “Come on in.”

It was surreal having the two put-together and deadly assassins sitting on his living room floor and allowing kittens to climb over them. And one of them had pulled out little toys for the kittens out of nowhere and the cats were going crazy over them. It ended with all four of them piled in Natasha’s lap, sleeping soundly, while she stared down at them with a satisfied expression.

“She has a thing for kittens,” Clint said, cuddling the mother cat and kissing her cheeks.

Bruce was the next person to come by, and he had the decency to send a text asking if it was alright to come over. He even brought donuts and coffee and immediately became Peter’s new favorite. The kittens shied away from him at first, skittering under the couch when he tried to pick one of them up.

“It’s alright,” Bruce said with a wan smile when Peter tried to come up with a reason for their sudden strange behavior. “Animals take a while to warm up to me sometimes because of the other guy.”

After a while, one of the kittens gathered his courage and went sniffing at Bruce’s hand. The others were quick to follow after that, tugging at his shoelaces and biting at his fingers. The joyful grin on Bruce’s face melted Peter.

Tony didn’t come to visit—which Peter couldn’t blame him for, with how swamped the man had been with his company and projects. It was definitely a surprise, though, when he opened his door one morning to find an equally confused delivery man with three large boxes filled with cat toys, food, and one of the most elaborate cat trees he had ever seen.

Steve hesitantly approached him while he was in the Tower, after a mission. His eyes were hopeful as he quietly asked if he and Bucky could come over the next day for breakfast and to see the kittens. Peter had hastily agreed (who could say no to Captain America when he was giving them that look?), and spent the next day scrubbing his house from top to bottom to make it presentable.

Bucky and Steve came over, the former looking as gaunt as ever and constantly looking around for any sort of danger. He eyed Peter warily, staying close to Steve, but still entered the apartment and sat down on the edge of the couch.

“So, uh, I can go grab ‘em now,” Peter said after an awkward silence. “Do you, uh, want one at a time or all at once? I can bring the mom, too.”

“Maybe we should start with one,” Steve said, shining his trademark smile. “Just to get a feel of them.”

Peter nodded, and headed back to his bedroom. He already knew he was going to take little Stuart—he was the sweetest and chubbiest of the kittens, and was already shaping up to be a wonderfully lazy and cuddly cat.

Steve immediately took to the kitten, holding him and scratching him behind the ears. Stuart lapped up the attention, head lolling back and eyes closing in bliss as a rumbling purr started up in his chest.

“Oh, he’s so sweet,” Steve gushed, planting a kiss on the kitten’s face. He turned to Bucky, who’d been standing stiffly next to him. “Do you wanna hold him?”

Bucky’s eyes widened, and he opened his mouth to say something, but Steve was already handing Stuart off to him. Steve and Peter held their breaths, wondering what Bucky was going to do.

The kitten meowed, annoyed at the lack of pets, and climbed further up Bucky’s chest, supported by his human hand. He sniffed Bucky’s chin before headbutting it, purring once again.

There was a collective sigh of relief as a faint smile grew on Bucky’s face.

***

Somehow, it became a thing. An Avenger would drop by at random intervals, sometimes even just letting themselves into the house, to play with the kittens. Peter regularly got texts from Natasha and Bruce demanding pictures, and when Peter had to spend nights swinging through the city, Tony would pick up the kittens and their mother and take them to the tower, announcing that the kiddos were spending the night with their uncle.

It was something that Peter wouldn’t have expected in a million years, but it was…cute. At least the kittens were getting properly socialized.

***

Peter wasn’t privy to the details of the mission, but he knew that it was a rough one. Clint looked numb as he entered the Tower, and didn’t acknowledge anyone as he wandered into his room. Peter knew he would be overstepping his boundaries by going after him, especially when Natasha was already making her way after him.

It wasn’t until he was getting ready to leave did he find Wade sitting in the hallway, hunched over with his head in his hands.

Peter paused, uncertain if he should approach Wade. The two of them had something of a complex relationship, and there was no denying that Peter had been a hardcore asshole for the first few months that they knew each other. After being thrown together for numerous assignments, though, Peter begrudgingly started to respect the mercenary, and traded jokes with him as a friendship started to form.

Ah, what the hell. Peter might as well try to talk to the man. Wade would do the same for him.

Wade didn’t acknowledge Peter as he came up, nor when he sat down next to him. He carefully watched Wade and tried to make his movements and presence obvious (the last thing he needed was a bullet in the shoulder from startling such a deadly man).

“Hey, you okay man?” Peter said lamely.

Wade kept his head bowed, but lifted a hand to give him an unenthusiastic thumbs up. He exuded a depressive mood, and seemed content to stay silent, which was one of the most off-putting things Peter had ever had the displeasure to experience.

Peter’s brow furrowed as he tried to decide what to do. He didn’t really know what would cheer the man up. Going out for pizza or a coffee? No, Wade didn’t really like going out in public, and the last thing he needed was to be stared at by a bunch of strangers. Maybe some video games in the Avenger’s living room? That might’ve been a good idea, if Thor hadn’t destroyed the Wii and other consoles during an intense game of Mario Kart.

There was one thing, though…

Peter stood up suddenly. “Wanna know a secret?” he asked.

Wade blinked and looked up at Peter, not fully comprehending. “I always wanna know secrets,” he said.

Peter nodded decisively. “Go put on some regular clothes,” he said. Wade still looked confused, but still nodded and stood up, wandering to the SHIELD locker rooms.

When Wade was dressed in civilian clothes and had his face hidden under a hat, Peter started leading him on the winding way back to his apartment. Wade nagged and whined about not knowing where he was going, but Peter could tell that he was only putting on a show, the protests seeming lackluster and with no meaning behind them.

It wasn’t until they were in Peter’s apartment and Peter was taking off his shoes that the situation seemed to pierce through the fog in Wade’s mind.

“Is…is this your apartment?”

Peter nodded, and Wade looked awed. “Holy crap,” he said. “I’m in Spider-man’s house.”

Peter snorted, shaking your head fondly. “Take off your shoes and jacket,” he ordered. “And try to be quiet.”

Wade obediently toed off his shoes, but stage whispered, “Why do I need to be quiet?”

Holding a finger up to his lips for emphasis, Peter led Wade through the house and towards the bathroom.

“Uh, baby boy, why are we going to the bathroom?”

“Shh.”

Peter could already hear the kittens meowing on the other side of the door, having heard him moving around. He could see Wade’s brow furrowed in confusion, and the way his eyes bulged out when Peter opened the door and saw the little fluffballs that Peter kept at bay with his leg.

“Kittens?”

The mother cat hissed in the corner, and Peter smacked Wade’s arm lightly, giving him a pointed look. Wade looked chagrined, closing his mouth into a thin line. Peter helped him finagle their way into the bathroom, making sure the door was closed behind them.

“You can sit there,” Peter said, motioning to one of the pillows against the wall.

Wade sat down, and his breath hitched when a kitten pounced on his leg. He clutched at his chest, making Peter chuckle.

“I didn’t know you had kittens,” Wade said, carefully petting the ginger kitten that approached him.

“Yeah,” Peter chuckled, scratching the mother cat behind her ears. “I, uh, started fostering kittens for a local animal shelter. They…they really help me calm down after I’ve been on a bad mission, or I’m feeling down. They don’t really let you get stuck in your thoughts for long, because they’ll start knocking things over and biting on things.”

Wade gave Peter a blank look that quickly morphed into something else, something a lot sadder and emotional. He picked up two of the kittens and buried his face in their soft fur, hiding from Peter’s understanding look. Peter didn’t say anything, allowing him to have his moment as he watched the other two kittens start wandering over to their mother to feed. He pressed his shoulder into Wade’s side in silent support.

“They’re about to start nursing, if you wanna see that,” Peter said, tugging on Wade’s sleeve lightly. “Plus, those two are gonna get pissy if they don’t get their meal.”

Wade let the other two go, and they immediately went to their mother, fighting for a spot against her stomach for a teat. After a few moments of fussing, they were all content in their spots, and their mother had cleaned them to her satisfaction. Peter felt a curl of happiness when he saw Wade’s jaw drop as the cacophony of purring started.

“This is heaven,” Wade said numbly, staring at the scene in front of them. He let out a muffled squeal when he saw their small paws kneading the mother’s stomach.

Peter chuckled, straightening out his legs in front of him. “Yeah, it’s really amazing, isn’t it?”

They sat in silence, watching the mother and her kittens. She was blinking slowly, watching her children.

Peter swallowed nervously. “You’re welcome to come here whenever you want,” he blurted out, feeling his entire face flush. “I mean, it’s good for the kittens to meet new people, and they can really switch your mood around. Kitten therapy.” He let out a nervous laugh that had the mother cat giving him an annoyed glance.

“I wouldn’t wanna intrude,” Wade said hesitantly. “I know that it’s nice having your space being your space, and I don’t wanna get on another’s person bad side.” Peter hated the bitterly sad tone in the mercenary’s voice.

“I like your company,” Peter said softly.

In the corner of his eye, he saw Wade’s face start to redden, but neither of them acknowledged it.

“That sounds like a lie, but okay,” Wade said jokingly.

After more silence, Wade made an aborted movement before giving in and shifting to the side. His head came and rested on Peter’s shoulder, but he refused to rest too much of his weight on the other man, instead practically hovering. When Peter rested his own head on Wade’s, the mercenary let out a shuddering breath and sagged into Peter’s side.

***

The kittens grew bigger and bigger with each passing week, and Peter fell into his new routine. They were big enough now that he opened the door connecting the bathroom and his bedroom to give them more room to run around. Every other night or so (he’d shake it up sometimes—no need for the criminals to catch onto his schedule) he would go out as Spider-man, and the rest of the time he would spend in Tony’s workshop, or in his apartment with the cats.

He hadn’t heard much from Wade after their intimate moment, but he’d heard from a passing agent that he’d been assigned to another intense mission. He’d asked a casual question to Clint about it (it wasn’t casual, judging from the archer’s expression), and a wide grin had grown over his face before he ran off, shouting loudly that Peter had a crush on Deadpool.

A wrestling match and numerous threats later, Clint gasped out that he’d leave the topic be, and Peter helped him out of the cocoon of webbing. Unfortunately for Peter, pretty much all of the Avengers had heard, and he knew it wasn’t going to die that easily.

Peter groaned, running his hands through his hair and making it stick up more than normal. He’d just returned from an exhaustive night of being Spider-man, that had contained way too many crimes than was appropriate for a Monday night, thank you very much. All he could think about was how badly he wanted to take a shower and then pass out on his bed with the cats, and he was quick to follow through with his plan.

Peter hadn’t been asleep for more than a couple hours when there was a heavy banging on his door that had him and the cats startling. He immediately jumped to his feet, tense and wary as he made it to the door, heart already beating faster and muscles tensing for a fight.

“Pete?” Wade’s voice filtered through the door. “It’s me.”

Peter let out a deep breath and undid the lock chain, pulling the door open. The lights in the hallway hid any details, but Peter could see the familiar outline of the mercenary, lounging against his door frame.

“Jesus, Wade,” Peter huffed, finally getting his glasses on. He fumbled in the dark to reach the light switch. “You nearly gave me a heart attack…” His voice trailed off as he finally was able to take in the gruesome details of Wade.

Wade’s eyes were more than a little crazed as he let out a hysterical giggle. “I was wondering if I could get some of that kitten therapy you were advertising a couple of weeks ago,” he said, not acknowledging the numerous slashes and bullet holes in his suit.

Peter’s breath hitched when Wade shifted, and he could see all of the blood that was caked on his suit and skin. There were fresh, pink lines and dots, showing where the skin was still knitting itself back together from whatever fight Wade had just come from.

“Take a shower first,” Peter said, forcing himself to sound calm. “I don’t want blood on my furniture.”

Wade wheezed a laugh, pushing himself off of the doorframe and staggering into the apartment. “Yeah, it’s a major bitch to get out of things. I gave up years ago—that’s why I wear red and black. You can’t see the blood stains. Very handy. Is that why you do it? It’s pretty smart, when you think about it.”

Peter let Wade continue babble on as he locked the door and led Wade into the bathroom, making appropriate noises when the one-sided conversation called for it. Luckily, the kittens were all in the bedroom, so he was able to close the adjoining door before they came in and started clawing up Wade’s suit.

“Shower first, and then you can have a kitten,” Peter said when Wade started to protest. He leaned into the tub and turned on the shower, making sure the temperature was bearable. “No buts. If you think getting blood out of furniture and clothes is hard, imagine getting it out of a bunch of squirmy kitten fur.”

He’d meant his words to be a joke, but it seemed to take Wade to a completely different headspace. The mercenary’s smile turned strained and his eyes tight.

“M-maybe I should just go,” Wade said abruptly, turning and twisting the door open. He hadn’t put his shirt back on, choosing to let it land with a splat on the tiled flooring.

“Whoa, whoa, slow down there, bud,” Peter exclaimed, jogging so he was able to get between Wade and the door. “What’s wrong? You were so excited to see them a few seconds ago, and now you’re freakin’ out.”

“Oh, I just remembered that I, uh, left some laundry in the washing machine,” Wade said, voice bordering on shrill. “We can do this again, uh, never? Probably never.”

“Why?” Peter frowned, moving when Wade tried to get around him. “Don’t you wanna see the kittens?”

“I don’t think—“ Wade stopped talking and let out a deep breath. “I don’t wanna hurt them,” he finally muttered, voice trembling. “I shouldn’t be around them. I can’t.”

Peter’s heart ached at the raw pain in Wade’s voice. “C’mon, dude, you aren’t gonna hurt them,” he said softly. He cautiously stepped forward before reaching and taking ahold of Wade’s hand. “You love them, and they love you. If I think you’re getting too rough with them, I’ll stop you. Do you think I’d let you hurt them?”

Wade was still tense, his jaw set and eyes wide. He let out a shuddering breath, slowly relaxing his shoulders. He grudgingly allowed Peter to lead him back to the bathroom, where the shower was still running and was warmed up.

“Do you need help getting your suit off?” Peter asked, crossing his arms over his chest and watching as Wade stood in the center of the bathroom.

The mercenary still seemed lost as he looked around. “N-no, I got it,” he said, voice trailing off as he unbuckled his belt and let it fall to the ground before wrangling with his boots.

He turned his back to Wade to give him some privacy, feeling his cheeks heat up slightly. He heard the swish of the shower curtain as the mercenary stepped into the spray. Peter called out to him that he’d be in the bedroom, and the man grunted out an acknowledgement.

Peter rummaged around in the back of his closet and dresser for any clothes that would fit Wade, all the while pushing kittens away and stopping them from climbing up his pants leg. He was rewarded with some sweatpants and a T-shirt that would be a tight fit, but would work.

Peter went to knock on the bathroom door but hesitated. Through the door, he thought he could hear some sniffling. He silently stepped away from the door and went back to his bed, sitting down on the corner. It would do Wade some good to let out his feelings with some crying, and Peter refused to interrupt it.

In the meantime, he would just wait and play with the kittens. It wasn’t a bad trade-off, all things considered.

After what felt like ages, the shower turned off, and Wade came out with a towel wrapped around his waist. Despite the numerous old scars that were crisscrossing his body, he didn’t seem to be in any new pain, much to Peter’s relief. Wade’s face was twisted into a sour scowl, though.

“I ran out of hot water,” he grumbled. “Your apartment has crappy plumbing.”

“Well, I’ll make sure to take it up with the landlord after he fixes the ten thousand other things wrong with the apartment. Those are for you, by the way.”

He gestured with his head at where the mother cat was lounging across the pile of clothes. Wade grimaced and awkwardly tried to shoo her away. She let out an annoyed sound but gracefully jumped off the bed to find a new spot to sleep.

Peter’s heart skipped a beat as Wade shamelessly dropped the towel and started to get dressed. He turned his head away, and reflexively moved the kitten in his arms so she was also facing away.

“Wait,” Wade gasped, making Peter whip around in alarm. His eyes bulged and he looked around the room, thankfully fully-dressed. “Am I in Spider-man’s bedroom?”

“Yes, you are,” Peter deadpanned, his shoulders relaxing. “Take in the majesty of it all: the unmade bed, the cracks in the wall, the dirty plates by the bed, everything. I’m sure it’s marvelous.”

“You actually have a TV in your room?”

“I’m an adult. I can do what I want, Wade.”

Wade snorted, shaking his head. That flash of his old self seemed to fade fast, and he was back to his kicked puppy look. He stood by the bed uncertainly, glancing around.

“Come sit down,” Peter urged, shimmying backwards so his back was against the headboard and he could straighten the blankets. “C’mon.”

Wade slowly sat down, stiff as a board next to Peter. The other man was getting the distinct feeling that Wade was about to make some excuse to leave, and was quick to deposit his kitten into Wade’s arms.

Wade’s eyes widened slightly, scratching the small thing under her chin. He tilted his head down to look at the kitten that was determined to make his way to Wade’s face. He gave the kitten a soft smile that Peter couldn’t remember ever seeing him wear, and he was surprised at the way he felt something build in his chest.

They both stayed quiet as Peter switched the television on, keeping the volume low. The kittens were beginning to tire again and all started finding little nooks and crannies to sleep in. The one on Wade’s chest fell asleep curled into a ball, and another two had found places draped over Peter’s thighs. The fourth was pressed against his mother’s stomach, the two of them sleeping in the cat bed in the corner.

Peter kept sending discreet glances in Wade’s direction, but never made eye contact with the man. Wade seemed focused on absently toying with the kitten’s little paw and watching the television, the tension slowly starting to bleed from his shoulders.

“I, uh, can leave whenever you want me to,” Wade said at one point, his voice cracking through the silence.

Peter pointedly looked down at the kitten. “It’s illegal for you to move right now,” he said with a teasing smile. “You’re not allowed to even think about moving when there’s a kitten sleeping on you. You gotta pee? Too bad, there are kittens on you. Such is the life of a cat lover.”

That managed to get another semblance of a smile from Wade, who settled further into the bed, kicking the blankets over his legs. He ended up halfway on Peter’s pillow, head resting by Peter’s shoulder as he settled further into the bed. He heaved a sigh, and the last of the tension in his body was gone.

It was only natural that his head came to rest properly on his shoulder, and for Peter’s hand to creep closer to his until their fingers were entangled. Slowly but surely, they started peeking at each other when the other wasn’t look. Their eyes met, and they didn’t look away.

Peter swallowed reflexively, filled with trepidation. “Can I kiss you?” he asked softly.

Wade’s eyes glanced down to Peter’s lips, making his heart jump in his chest. The mercenary gave a short, jerky nod, and Peter moved forward without any further ado and pressed a soft kiss to his mouth. As soon as they touched, the nervousness melted away from both of them, shoulders sagging and held breaths let out.

When their kissing grew more heated, Peter scooted closer to Wade. He made a move to pull himself into Wade’s lap, but froze when one of the kitten unceremoniously rolled fell off of his lap and let out a loud, long screech of annoyance.

They broke away, looking at each other before bursting out in laughter. Peter picked the kitten up as Wade finally found his confidence and pulled the other man closer with an arm around his shoulders, letting him cuddle into his side. The other kitten that had been sleeping on Peter grew jealous and purposefully walked up to sleep stretched out across them.

“Is this what it’s like having children?” Peter joked, kissing the kitten on his chest.

Wade chuckled, nosing Peter’s hair before kissing his temple. “We’ll have to drop them off at the babysitter’s for some alone time,” he joined in, grinning proudly when Peter snorted with laughter. Both of their cheeks flushed after a few moments, but neither said anything.

“Does this mean I’m allowed to ask you out on a date now?” Wade blurted out. “Like, a proper date. Real fancy. Maybe not in a restaurant because, y’know, face, but we could still figure something out. Steal some nice silverware and a tablecloth from Stark and take it to a diner, maybe some candles.”

Peter snorted. “Don’t steal from my boss,” he chided him, reaching over and snatching up the remote. “Tell me what you want to watch, or I’m putting on Chopped.”

“I think I’m in love.”

[ecotone99]

Spun Golden [MF]

Spun Golden

Rupert waited in his squad car on the top of the mountain. The night was dark and the fog was so thick he could barely see the large rancher he had been staking out the week prior. He felt cramped and restless waiting for his backup.

The HEAT wagon pulled up behind him and the team got out in an ordered frenzy. They went up to the door of the rancher and knocked. The lead commanding orders for the door to be opened only to be met by silence. The HEAT lead kicked in the door, breaking into two. The team hurried in and Rupert could see flashlights through the darkened windows that pierced through the fog.

“All clear, you should come in and investigate,” said a female voice over the CB Radio.

“What’s the M.O.?” asked Rupert.

“Looks like another O.D., we also found a grow room but not more n’ that, looks like the house is trashed too, an ambulance was called, should be here shortly.”

Rupert looked around the house for evidence, the inside of the rancher was filthy. The rancher had stacks of newspapers since the seventies gathering dust, containers of half-eaten food, rotting, and gathering mold in the sink. He walked carefully to the backyard, which was grown over with weeds, grass growing up to his knees, which wasn’t saying much considering Rupert’s height. In the middle of the yard was a greenhouse, which looked to be surprisingly well kept compared to the rest of the house.

He opened the thin mesh door to the greenhouse and found rows upon rows of grow boxes. The grow boxes were full of straw, out of this straw grew a flower that resembled a poppy, but instead of red, it was a deep golden color. He was struck by the heady perfumed fragrance that lingered in the air, small trails started to form in his vision, and he felt drowsy. He left immediately letting the fresh, humid air hit his lungs and clear out his senses.

“That is certainly another grow operation for Spun,” Said Rupert.

The officer shook his head, “It seems like every time we find one, two more crop up in its place.”

“I know, but we have to keep fighting the good fight,” Rupert sighed as he massaged his temples.

Spun was short for Spun Golden, a genetically modified plant. The plant had hallucinogenic and addictive qualities, and it was ravaging small towns along the I81 corridor. The plant was an opioid, a poppy that had been crossed with the hallucinogenic properties of belladonna. It grew best out of the soil that was aerated by straw.

Senior Special Agent Rupert Stiltskin of D.C. area DEA was assigned with finding the kingpin of drug ring for Spun, but every time he got a lead, by the time they could legally throw a raid, the suspects were either dead or long gone, this was another dead end.

Frustrated Rupert drove down the mountain a few hours later, the fog turning into clouds as the road wound down into Castle, Pennsylvania, the nearest town. His ears popped and his head was pounding, no doubt from with withdrawal of Spun. He was in his mid-forties, balding with a hooked nose, he had a small potbelly from too many donuts. Although his body was past its prime, his mind remained sharp, at least he hoped it would be sharper in the morning when the fog cleared away. He got to his home and his wife, Norma, greeted him.

“You look awful, hon,” she said.

“It’s this case, every time I get close, it just slips away from me, I’m trying everything I can.” “Shh,” she kissed him. “I made you a casserole, it’s in the oven, why don’t you have dinner and a beer and meet me in bed?”

“I don’t think beer is the best idea right now, but thank you, I don’t know how I’d remain sane without you.”

“Never you mind, hon.” She gave him another hug and headed off the small bedroom in their modest house.

After dinner he peeped into the door next to his room, his son, Caleb, was now nearly thirteen. He was long and lanky and snoring soundly. Rupert thought about all the time he lost, he was out looking for drug dealers while Norma took him to recitals for school plays, he made a note that he was going to take a day off for the next show, and quietly shut the door.

He curled next to Norma and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep

Rupert got up at 5 am in the morning to the sound of his neighbors’ rooster. He walked out of bed quietly and took a quick shower. He saw Caleb in the kitchen next to the coffee pot.

“You’re up early,” said Rupert.

“School starts early, Pa,” said Caleb. “I made you some coffee.”

Caleb fixed him a large thermos of blonde coffee. “I can make you some oatmeal if you like, Pa, I learned a magic trick with cards, look, I can show you,” said Caleb.

“I wish I had time, but I have to be at the station early, DEA stuff; look, Caleb, when this is over, I promise, well I won’t promise, but I’ll try to be there for you, I know you have a game next Tuesday.”

“It’s all right,” said Caleb, “you’re out there catching the bad guys, and trying to catch whoever is making Spun Golden, one of my friend’s brother died from an O.D.”

“Hang on there, what was your friend’s name?”

“Paul Willeck.”

“His brother would be Tom Willeck Jr.”

“Yes sir,” said Caleb.

“Dad, just don’t tell them I told you, ok?”

Rupert frowned. “I understand” Rupert kissed his son on the cheek and grabbed his coffee and a donut from the box on the counter.

He made his way down a winding mountain road into the town of Castle. The mountains divided Pennsylvania from Maryland. Criminals would often get away by crossing through using Ball Road as a way to jump the state line before being caught. The federal government called in the Washington Division of the DEA to cover this case in the tri-state area. Rupert started as a deputy in Castle and applied to be a DEA agent when he saw the small mountain towns being torn asunder by the opioid crises, many of the drugs legally prescribed by doctors and being sold by the patients on the black market. Spun Gold only exacerbated this existing problem.

The thick green trees and winding roads cleared to farmhouses, then to shopping centers, then to the colonial row houses, brick and pavement of the town proper. He made his way downtown to the Sheriff’s office, parked his car in the small lot, and entered the building.

Ralston was manning the front desk. Ralston was a young African American man of a wiry disposition. He had left his precinct from Baltimore to live in peace and quiet, only to be landed in the middle of a drug epidemic. In Baltimore, he had to deal with gang war fair, in Castle, and the land outside of it, it was more grow houses and vicious rednecks. Families that hoarded guns and prepped for the end of the world. Men who hated him for his skin color and would call their hounds on him in a moment’s second. They thought of themselves as nobility, and why not, a drug Barron was still a Barron and turf was still turf city or county. Ralston resolved that people sucked everywhere, city or country and he had enough of it all.

“How you doin’ Rupert?” asked Ralston.

“Doin’ ok, Rawls, here to see the boss, I got a lead.”

“On the Spun case?”

“Yeah, back at the middle and high school.”

“Damn, kids, that’s a shame, they get them hooked young they have a customer for life.”

“Sad but true, but I got a tip of an overdose from Dalton High School.”

“Yeah, the Willeck case?” asked Ralston.

“Exactly, that might be the lead that we need to investigate.”

Rupert went to the back office and grabbed some over-brewed coffee in a Styrofoam cup. He waited for Chief Ellis at his desk. Chief Ellis was in his 50s with salt and pepper hair, an athletic build, and a gruff disposition.

“Stiltskin, you’re on your last legs with this investigation, the raid last night was a fiasco, another grow house but no one left alive and no leads to the source of Spun.”

“I found another lead, Sir, Tom Willeck overdosed on Spun a week ago.”

“And we investigated, sent moles into the High school, no one’s talkin’.”

“I have a lead, my son, he was friends with his little brother, Paul, I can interview his family, as a family man myself.”

Cheif Ellis shook his head and sighed, “Go ahead, if we can just find a good lead, we have plenty of evidence from the grow rooms but not a lead on how it’s getting from the houses to the community, the growers all OD before we can ask them anything.”

“I think we might be able to find something from Willeck’s, I’ll interview them as soon as I can.”

Rupert looked up the address for the Willeck house before he left the station. He went to the local flower shop and bought a bouquet of white roses with a card that read: “Our condolences.” He drove from downtown to a newer housing development on the outside of Castle. It was upon a small hill that overlooked the town. The Willeck’s lived in a gray two-story house with white shutters, the house was in a cul-de-sac near the woods. He remembered how Caleb would talk of how he and Paul had built a fort in the woods and how Tom would sometimes have paintball gun battles with them, much to Norma’s chagrin.

Rupert nervously rang the doorbell and a middle-aged woman answered. She had blonde hair cut at bob and was wearing leggings and a long tee-shirt. She looked very tired.

“Hi, I’m Rupert Stiltskin, an investigator with the DEA’s office,” he said.

“I’ve already spoken with the DEA, I’ve told them everything I know,” sighed the woman.

“Ma’am, I understand, I’m also a parent myself, I’m Caleb’s father, he’s friends with Paul. If you don’t want to talk, I get it. I just thought I’d leave you these before I left.” He gave Mrs. Willeck the bouquet.

“Come in,” she said wearily, “can I get you some coffee?”

“No ma’am, the stuff from the station already burnt the hair off my tongue.”

“Caleb is a good kid, he got Paul to get off his computer and leave the house. Those two would play in the woods for hours, king of the hill, capture the flag.”

“Paintball?”

“That too, I’m Sharon, nice to meet you.”

“Yeah, when… when we lost Tom that hit Paul hard, if I can do anything to help catch whoever gave him this poison I’ll help, but I’ve already said everything.”

“That’s alright, the boys, they played a lot out back, Caleb said that there was a fort back there.”

“Yeah,” said Sharon, “and a treehouse, you know, they never thought to search there.”

“May I?”

“Of course, anything to help, I’ll go with you and show you where it is.”

Rupert followed Sharon on a footpath through the woods. About a quarter-mile back there was a wooden structure and above that a small treehouse with a rope ladder. Rupert gingerly climbed the ladder followed by Sharron. On one of the walls, there was a heart carved into the wood. It read Tom + Mazzy surrounded by a heart.

“Did Tom have a girlfriend?”

Sharron touched the heart, “Not one that I knew of, I never met Mazzy, the police are still going through his cell phone records, they might have found something.”

“I’ll check back with them and see if I can find anything, do you remember his behavior changing suddenly.”

“A couple of weeks ago he became more distant, more withdrawn. He was away from the house more, I thought he was going to work.”

“Where did he work?”

“Just at the local barbeque place, Up in Smoke, at the other side of town.”

“Great place,” said Rupert, his stomach growling at the prospect of ribs, “I might have enough to go on here. You’ve been a great help.”

“Thank you,” said Sharon.

Rupert left the house and went back to the station to Ellis’ office.

“I need to have Tom Willeck’s phone records, we may have found a lead, he had a girlfriend.”

“Lots of teenage boys have girlfriends, doesn’t mean it’s a lead.”

“His family didn’t know anything about her, he had no reason to keep a relationship secret.”

“Maybe the kid just wanted privacy.”

“If I could just look at the records, I might be able to find out, his parents signed over permission.”

“Fair point, Ralston, take him to the evidence room.”

Rupert had to sign some paperwork and found the phone in the evidence locker, it was barely charged, he plugged it in and opened it. He checked the photos there was girl with bright pink hair and heavy makeup next to him in most of them. Under the photo was the name Mazzy.

He then checked the high school yearbook and found a similar picture; the name underneath was Chrystal Miller.

Chief Ellis had already had a mole sent out to Dalton High school to look for Chrystal Miller, she had stopped attendance nearly a week ago, they checked with her father, Silas Miller, and he said that she had run away from home.

Rupert was familiar with Silas Miller, when he was deputy police for Castle, he was called out on separate occurrences of domestic abuse. His wife, Ruby Miller, eventually had the courage to leave and was somewhere in upstate New York. They had two daughters, Chrystal and Goldie.

Goldie had been accepted with a full scholarship into the University of West Virginia, Morgantown, as a biology major and had not been seen in Castle for the last couple of years. Chrystal was still in high school, and had instances of truancy, drinking underage and shoplifting. She had spent six months in Abraxis detention center. She had missed her last parole hearing and had disappeared two weeks ago; the same time frame Tom Willeck had overdosed on Spun.

Rupert searched further into Chrystal Miller’s case; they found her parked car by a lookout near the Appellation Trail. Her cell phone was in the car but wiped clean and after a few footsteps on the trail, all traces of her were gone. He decided to drive up to the lookout and do another brief investigation.

He drove up the winding road to the lookout and it was dusk by the time he got there. There were a few hikers perched on a large flat Cliffside. They were eating their trail mix and enjoying the sunset. Among the hikers, he saw a slight young woman with piercings, magenta hair, and a stocking cap. She was wearing jeans and a gray W.V. State sweatshirt. She was quietly watching the sunset but sat by herself, away from the other hikers. Rupert sat by the young woman.

“Chrystal Miller?” He asked.

“I don’t know who you’re referring to,” she said, “did you lose your hiking party?”

“Would it be better if I called you Mazzy then?”

“I think it would be best if you stop asking questions,” she replied warily.

Rupert took out his badge, “I think you owe us some information.” Mazzy started to tremble and tears poured from her jade green eyes, “Please sir, don’t make me go back there, don’t make me go back home, he’ll kill me or worse, I can’t go back!”

“Shhh,” said Rupert calmly. “It’s all right, who are you in danger from?”

“I can’t say, I really can’t, please, can I just go.”

“Look, I just need to ask you a few questions about Tom Willeck.”

“I don’t know nothin’ about Tom.”

“Look, you can go with me and ask a few questions, if you work with us we might even be able to get you some safety or I can bring you in on a parole violation.”

Her shoulders slumped and she started crying but obliged. Her face looked thin and she was shivering as she entered the back of the squad car. Rupert decided not to cuff her and on the way down he stopped by Up In Smoke.

“They’ll see me here!” She said.

“I’m just going for the drive-through.”

He pulled the squad car through the drive-through and Mazzy shrank up into a ball to avoid being noticed. He ordered two pulled pork sandwiches with coleslaw and two large cups of cherry coke. He then rode back to the station. He brought Mazzy back to a room with a long table and gave her the coke and sandwich. She ate it ravenously and her shivering stopped.

“Are you feeling better Miss Miller?’

“Is this some good cop bad cop act?”

“There’s no bad cop here unless you count the Chief, but even he’s not so bad, just a hard ass. Look, I’m DEA, an older investigator, not really into the raids and stuff. I’m just trying to find a lead on the Spun Gold case, if you have any information that lead to Tom’s death it would help greatly, I could even work a deal with the courts and have your parole violation mitigated. Hell, if you fear for your safety, I might even work out a deal to get you into a group home. You might even be old enough to qualify as an emancipated minor.”

“The only way I’ll say anything to you is if I can be put in the witness protection program, they’ll find me and kill me and make it look like an accident.”

“Who will find you?”

She started shivering and crying again. Rupert removed the badge in his pocket and draped his jacket over Mazzy. She was only a few years older than Caleb and clearly afraid for her safety, he wondered how far down the rabbit hole this young woman was.

“My father, Silas, he’s a grower for the Kingpin, look he has my sister and my nephew, I can’t have you putting them in trouble.”

“So, he has your sister, Goldie, he took him from your father and is holding her for ransom?”

Mazzy started sobbing, “No sir, my daddy sold my sister to him. She was checking in on him after the divorce, the king took her son when she last visited and is holding him ransom so Goldie works for him. She was going to school for science or some stuff, she knows about genetic coding, CRISPER technology, she invented Spun to get her son back.”

“Do you know who the Kingpin is?”

Mazzy shook her head. “Daddy never talked about him in name.”

“How did your father come into contact with him.”

“Promise you’ll help me, not let anybody know that I’m here?”

“I’ll do what I can, but you’ll have to work with me.”

“My daddy is a Proud Boy, I don’t believe in that stuff, never did, part of the reason I left, but that’s how he met him,” she sighed and rolled her eyes, “they met online, the kingpin was running guns, my daddy said that Goldie knew science was really good with plants. She was into Four H and horticulture growing up, that stuff. Anyway, dad said that he was really upset with mom and he just wanted to see Goldie and his grandson. Goldie knows where mom is, she told me when I got out of Abraxis that we could all go there and be safe, then dad found the conversation between us. He gave Goldie’s son to the kingpin and sold her to him, I thought he was going to make her do things, like sell her body,” she broke down and started sobbing, “but Goldie is smart, real smart, instead of her body she offered her mind, said she could create something that would make them all rich if she could just have her son and leave, but she’s still there, she’s been there nearly a year.”

Rupert gently patted her shoulder, “what you told me was very brave, and I’m gonna do everything in my power to make sure you stay safe. Do you know where the kingpin is?”

“Daddy wanted to take me up there to party with the king, I told him I had a boyfriend and I wasn’t that kind of girl. He found out who Tom was and now he’s gone, it’s my fault Tom’s dead, I should have just left and not said anything.” “It’s not your fault, it’s not your fault that bad people take advantage of kids, what’s important is you told us this now, we have a lead to catch the bad people. You sit tight, we’ll find a place for you to go.”

Rupert left the room and went to the back room on the other side of the glass. Chief Ellis was sitting there with a note pad.

“Poor kid, but I think we have enough information to get a stakeout, if the stakeout works, we’ll get a warrant,” said Ellis.

“What about the girl?” asked Rupert.

“Well, Stiltskin, I can work with juvenile services to make sure she stays safe if she agrees to testify. There’s a retreat called Mountain Manor that can keep her safe until it’s all over, then she can stay with her mother and older sister.”

“Mountain Manor is a psychiatric facility.”

“She’ll be safe, and get the treatment she needs, I’m sure the petty crimes were from stress. It’s an optional choice, but it’s safe and they treat their patients well there.”

“We should leave the choice to her.”

“True, but she’ll take the Manor given the choice, it’s a safe place until this all blows over, anyway it’s “Girl Interrupted” not Trans -Allegheny asylum. She’ll be well cared for, have talk therapy, treatment for PTSD, hell they even have horseback riding and camping trips for the less troubled patients. She hangs out for a few weeks, sings Kumbaya around a campfire, we raid, get the kingpin she and Goldie to testify in court and bam, no more Spun issue.”

“Is the state at least going to take care of the bill?”

“It’ll be part of the witness protection program; she won’t have anything to worry about.”

Chief Ellis went into the room and Rupert to could see him talking to her. Instead of the intimidating police chief, he seemed gentle, even fatherly toward Mazzy. Rupert saw the girl nodding profusely and even hug him. A few hours of paperwork later a car with a middle-aged woman came and took the girl away.

Chief Ellis then assigned both Ralston and Stiltskin to run a stakeout of Silas Miller’s house.

“Chief,” said Ralston, “Silas Miller is a Proud Boy, a White Supremacist, do really think it’s the best idea to put me on surveillance detail?” “It’s a stakeout, you just have to observe and remain inconspicuous.”

“In all due respect Chief, it’s not exactly easy to remain inconspicuous when you’re a brother heading up the Grand Dragon’s house.”

“We’ll have a mole from Dalton High School, his name is Carson, he was caught dealing on campus a few weeks ago, we cut him a deal if with the court if he would help us out.”

Rupert remembered Carson as the source of the raid a few nights ago, he was surprised the kid was still alive at this point.

“We need you to start at 2100 tonight,” said Chief Ellis.

“All I ask is that I go home to my family and get some shut-eye, it’s gone to be a long night.”

Rupert came home and held Norma close, he apologized for not calling and explained the incident with Mazzy, he trusted that Norma would not say a word to anyone.

“I was just worried about you, hon, these are dangerous people.”

“I understand, I’ll try to keep in touch more.”

“And the girl, is she going to be all right, she’s not much older than Caleb.”

“She’s going to be just fine, she’s in good hands.” He kissed her, “after this is over I’ll spend more time with you and Caleb, I have some leave I can take.”

“Caleb’s school is premiering Frankenstein vs the Horrendous Goo, Caleb got the part of the chemistry teacher. He’d be happy if you could come and see it.”

“I think we might be raising the next James Dean.”

“More like Jack Black, “Norma chucked, “He’s very funny, you’d see if you were around more, still thinks fart jokes are hilarious though.”

“Boys never grow out of that,” said Rupert, “just fair warning.” He kissed Norma and went to his bed. If crude humor was the worse that they’d have to worry about from Caleb, then he and Norma seemed to be doing pretty good.

At eight in the evening, he met Ralston and Carson at the station. Carson was wearing blue jeans a plain black tee-shirt and a beige jacket. He had long dark hair and was wearing jeans and a tee-shirt with a red and green marijuana plant printed on the front. Carson was on probation but smelled faintly of weed.

“You know marijuana isn’t legal in West Virginia, right kid?” said Rupert.

“Dude, relax, I’m going to go in and get the little golden flowers for you man, then you’ll have evidence to bring this asshole down. Marijuana never killed anyone, not like Spun man.”

“Kid has a point,” said Ralston, “in the city, I’ve seen deaths from Smack, Coke, Meth and all manner of street drugs cut with rat poison, I never really had an issue with pot. It’s been decriminalized in states around and will probably be legal eventually. We just need to pick our battles. Now you were caught selling pot and mushrooms at Dalton, and you knew Tom Willeck.”

“I knew him, and yeah, I sold some shrooms and pot, but nothing like that Golden shit, dude, I only sell natural stuff, nothing from a lab man.”

“Spun Gold is a plant,” said Rupert.

“Yeah, but like some GMO genetically hybridized bullshit, not anything that grows naturally.”

“Spun Gold is a poppy that was genetically modified to have the properties of Belladonna, making it hallucinogenic and extremely deadly. But both Belladonna and Poppies are plants that grow out of the ground, hell cyanide comes from peach pits,” said Rupert.

“Dude, I just want people to be relaxed and happy, I don’t want them to die or some shit, you’re not a good salesman if you kill your customers, man.”

Rupert shook his head.

“Anyway, are we about to run this?” said Ralston irritably. “I’ll be the driver, you get the evidence and Stiltskin will make the report and call the Calvary when we need it.”

“Sounds like a plan, dude,” said Carson as he got into the back seat. They were in Rawlston’s Black Range Rover. It was dark enough to remain undercover at night but nimble enough to keep up with suspects on winding mountain roads. Ralston drove out of town and to a field by the side of the mountain. He turned off on a dirt road and drove down sloping hills past an old red barn and cow pasture.

They then saw a mobile home the color of dust with small windows. On the front door hung a Rebel Flag. Ralston parked the Rover about a quarter-mile from the home, thankful for the cover of night.

“All right Carson, you know the drill,” said Rupert. He gave a small microphone to Carson, Carson then put the bug into one of his many pants pockets. “Now this is a dangerous person, give us a yell if you feel you’re in danger.”

“Dude, relax, I called Silas ahead of time and arranged a hangout, I would sell weed here all the time, yeah, he’s a crazy asshole but if you keep your mouth shut and just sell or buy from him he won’t cause trouble.”

“All I know is I ain’t going up there,” said Ralston.

“Probably for the best my dude. Guy’s a racist asshole and one of those preppers for the zombie apocalypse, he has all these crazy theories,” said Carson, rolling his eyes.

Carson then opened the back door and rolled out of the back seat. He walked down the dirt road into the darkness. Through the microphone, they heard dogs barking and a man yelling “Go on, git.”

“Do y’all have the stuff?” asked Silas.

“Yeah, I have a pound of Purple Kush man, will that work for two ounces of Spun?”

Rupert wondered where Carson had kept the pound of weed, probably in one of the hundred ding dang pockets on his pants.

“All right, let’s keep this quick,” said Silas, “there’s a lot of talk about how the feds are on this, you can’t be too careful, especially after Tom got himself killed.”

“Totally bro.”

There was a rustling sound and then the dogs started to act up again.

“I said, git!”

Then there was a sound of a gate slamming and then silence.

Ten minutes later the back door opened to the Rover and Carson piled in. He fished through his pockets and found a small bag of yellow powder.

“I stashed the bug in the house, Silas was a little too jumpy to notice,” said Carson.

“It looks like we got the evidence,” said Rupert, “now we just have to wait.”

And wait they did, Rupert and Ralston kept an eye on the house for any sort of activity but not much happened the rest of the night. During the next morning, they saw Silas feeding the chickens in the yard and yelling at the dogs under the porch, they were in a wooded area on top of the hill, enough to hide the Rover out of sight.

Over the radio, they heard various snoring and news broadcast. Closer to evening they heard a WWE match on the television. Rupert pulled some binoculars.

“Look there in the distance,” he said.

Ralston took the binoculars from Rupert and saw an old trans AM pulling on the dirt road toward Silas’ house. The door opened and a large bald man in a suit got out and went into the mobile house. There were several loud knocks.

“What in the hell do y’all want?” yelled Silas.

“Is that any way to address your boss?” asked a low, smooth voice on the other side.

“Sorry sir, be right there.”

Silas opened the door, he was a man with a potbelly, a mustache, and a red ball cap.

“Come on in,” said Silas.

“I’d rather not, have you found your other daughter, Crystal?”

“She’s out running around somewhere; she’ll be heading back sometime soon.”

“We can’t afford to have witnesses; we need to find her and employ her.”

“She’s not smart, not like Goldie.”

“There are other uses for her.”

“Look, she ran out, she probably headed to her mom’s house. She doesn’t have any friends and we took care of her little boyfriend; I will find my ex-wife and take care of them both.”

The bald man sighed, “the King needs you at the base, it’s about distribution into the area, we need to discuss expanding our market into I 81, down into D.C.”

“I don’t want to step on anyone’s turf, there’s a bunch of gangs down there that I don’t want to deal with, that and Baltimore, no thank you.”

“We’re missing on a huge market share, and the King wants bigger business Silas, if you’re considered a block to the market he will remove from the equation,” the bald man purred.

“All right, I’ll go, just let git my truck.”

The Grand AM took off, followed by an old F-150. Ralston waited a good minute or so and took off after. They followed them down a dirt road into the mountains, the dirt then turned into gravel and the road was pitted and uneven. They followed the F-150 up winding roads and steep inclines, the trucks stopped by a yellow gate and parked. Ralston parked the rover back towards the bottom of the hill undercover.

“I’ll get out here,” said Rupert. “You and Carson head back toward the station and present the evidence, I’ll follow on foot and report back.”

“You sure Ru?” asked Ralston. “It’s dangerous, really dangerous.”

“I grew up in these woods all my life, I know enough to stay out of the way. By the way, don’t call me Ru, it’s Rupert or Mr. Stiltskin, now I need y’all to call the Calvary, I’m going to try to find Goldie and make sure she’s safe.”

“Be careful my dude,” said Carson.

“You too, my dude, and stay out of trouble,” said Rupert.

Rupert got out of the rover and waited until the Silas and the bald man got out. Rupert followed behind enough to just see the silhouettes in the night. He walked softly trying to avoid making too much noise. A tree branch broke under his foot and he froze in fear. The two men in front looked behind and Rupert held his breath.

“It’s only a deer, they’re everywhere out here,” said Silas.

A light shone back and Rupert ducked behind a bush and stayed very still.

“I suppose you’re right.”

Rupert let out his breath as the two men started to walk forward again. He followed for about an hour when he saw an oblong house out of the side of the mountain. It was large and mostly windows, the floors cascaded under one another down the side of the mountain, and a large swimming pool was tiered over a large garage. The two men took off toward the mansion and Rupert gingerly followed them, they made their way to a gate in a large stone wall.

Rupert sighed and went further back into the woods, when he was out of earshot he called on his phone, the signal was very spotty and the call cut off. He managed to send a text to Ralson, stating the place was large, rich and had security. He looked around and saw cameras placed every few feet along the walls. In order to get a better vantage, he decided to climb a tree to see into the yard. Now it had been several years since he had climbed trees with Caleb in boy scouts, but not so long ago he forgot how.

He found a sturdy walnut tree and pulled his heft onto the larger branches. Catching his breath, he was now high up enough to see into the yard. There were cameras everywhere, except for one corner, in this corner was a large greenhouse, probably where the Spun Gold was grown. He climbed down off the walnut tree and looked for another tree closer to where the greenhouse would be. He found a maple, not quite as strong as the walnut but he would have to take his chances. He huffed and puffed but managed to find purchase on the lower branches. He pulled slowly climbed toward the higher branches when he heard a snap. He quickly found purchase on another branch and it slowly bent over the wall. He let go and tumbled the remaining five feet. He felt the ground skin his knee but that was the only damage he had, thank God.

He opened the door to the greenhouse and the pollen hit him immediately. He got out before the head rush would come. He then saw a woman with blonde curls and a gasmask holding him at gunpoint.

Rupert held his hands up.

“Goldie Miller?” The woman didn’t respond and still trained her gun on him. “I’m here to help, but only if you let me.”

The woman took off her gas mask, she had a pretty face, similar to Mazzy’s and jade green eyes.

“You a cop?” she asked.

“DEA,” said Rupert.

“You don’t have a warrant, or you wouldn’t be climbing trees to get in here.”

“Look, I’m here to help, I saw your sister, Mazzy, or Chrystal, she said you’re being held here against your will, I’m here to help.”

The woman lowered her gun. “You’re right, I’m Goldie, you saw Chrystal? Is she ok?”

“Yeah, she’s someplace safe, they can’t hurt her.”

“Thank God!”

“Look, she told me they have your son.”

Goldie looked tired and nodded. “Yeah, his names Bobby, he’s only two.” A tear left her eye. They said I could have him back when I filled this room with flowers. Of course, they told me that after I filled the first two. They keep asking for more and more and the houses they just keep getting bigger. They’re asking me to work with CRISPR and come up with other combinations to get people high. He’s working on designing GMO drugs to take over the market.” She was near sobbing.

“Who is this person?”

“The King, that’s all I know about him, my father had a debt to him and he wanted me and Chrystal to pay for it. I’m just glad she’s safe.”

Rupert texted on the phone that he found Goldie. A few minutes later a helicopter flew overhead and squad cars moved up and surrounded the mansion. Flash grenades went off blowing in the windows and agents dressed in black raided the mansion. There was the sound of gunfire exchanged when the King came out with a small blond boy as a sheild.

“No!” yelled Goldie.

The King was just an average looking middle-aged man in a suit, nothing remarkable. The large bald man stood beside him; a semi-automatic aimed at the troops.

“Come out with your hands up!” Chief Ellis’ voice boomed over a megaphone.

“One step closer and I’ll kill the boy,” said the King.

“Enough is enough, you ain’t killin’ my grandson,” said Silas.

“I own you and your family, Silas,” said the King.

Suddenly Ralston came behind Silas, he was wearing full tactical gear, he gave Silas a hard shove.

“Never forget I was the man that saved your sorry redneck ass!” said Ralston.

Ralston then pulled the pin on a flash grenade and threw it towards the King rolling back with the toddler in arms. The flash grenade went off, setting the King ablaze along with the straw in the greenhouse, burning it all down to the ground.

Rupert, Ralston, Goldie, and the child ran away from the chaos and made it to a nearby ambulance. An EMT took her and the child as well as looked over Rupert. He had some minor burns but would survive. The squad took both Silas, the bald man, and several goons out in zip ties, stuffed them in a large, black police van, and took off.

News of the raid traveled through the town of Castle quickly. The King was actually named Albert Kingston and was a former engineer for a chemical plant until he got involved in the drug trade, he made his living through the opioid crisis and managed to stay hidden, most of his sales came from rural areas and he used white supremacist groups as his lackeys and guard dogs. In his memoirs, he said, “hate makes men easy to control.” Silas got sentenced thirty years to federal prison but was knocked down to fifteen when he crowed like a stool pigeon on the trade.

Goldie Miller was let free by the courts as she was held under duress. She retrieved custody of her son Bobby and went back to Morgantown University. She married a professor a year later, presumably Bobby’s father, and later became the head of the biology department.

Mazzy aka Crystal Miller testified by the courts and received full treatment at Mountain Manor, she recovered and graduated high school, after which she moved to Hilton New York to live with her mother, Ruby Miller.

Ralston decided to become a federal agent and travel, seeing everywhere he went there was always going to be some sort of drama, so he might as well go everywhere.

Carson moved to Colorado and was doing quite well working for a legal dispensary.

Rupert Stiltskin took leave after the paperwork and court hearings were done with. He and Norma went to the theater of Dalton Middle school to see Frankenstein vs the Horrendous Goo, featuring Caleb Stiltskin, and it was the greatest show he ever did see.

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