Sul Sul had to make his own way back to Tartosa, & that meant taking the long bus ride with a stopover in Strangetown.
As he waited in the desert town for his transfer, he ventured into a nearby bathhouse in hope it might relax him.
Sul Sul tried to relax, but feelings of paranoia swarmed him. Anyone here could be out for him.
He began thinking how Daisy & Penelope’s mere association with him endangered them. He mulled whether to simply disappear, yet something within him knew he had a purpose in Tartosa.
Knowing this sense of purpose was what he must focus on, Sul Sul climbed from the pool.
“Nice tan line, Plumhole!” yelled a random townie.
Clothes hurriedly put back on, Sul Sul returned to the bus stop.
He felt ready to face whatever awaited him in Tartosa, or so he hoped.
Sunset beckoned by the time Sul Sul finally arrived back in Tartosa.
He was pondering what witty remark Penelope would doubtless make about his new tan, when Daisy’s villa at last came into view.
He felt a strange calm. This place was all he had resembling a home right now.
Any notion of calm dissipated on immediate arrival at the villa, though.
Unopened mail on the doorstep was the first red flag.
Then the uneaten food left up by the grill.
Sul Sul had feared the worst when Daisy hadn’t answered his calls, & now those fears were materialising.
Upon finding the contents of his room turned upside down, Sul Sul became certain something bad had happened here.
The same people who’d ambushed them leaving Goth Manor had been here too.
Daisy was nowhere to be found, and to make matters worse neither was Penelope.
Sul Sul tried Penelope one last time, but with no luck.
His intuition told him she wouldn’t be returning here, & he knew it would be foolish for him to hang around long.
Having quickly swapped into some new clothes, he made his exit from the villa.
“Oh hello, sweet boy.”
Not only was Nancy’s presence entirely unexpected, Sul Sul was also in a rush to leave here without delay. ]
“I came for a snack before I left Tartosa,” she continued. “You’re happy to see me, aren’t you?”
Before he had time to respond, she’d pulled him in tightly for a smooch.
Sul Sul yanked himself away from the kiss, glancing about to see if anyone had seen.
“Calm down, Sul Sul. Agent Fuzz is no longer here to give us anymore of her scathingly jealous looks.”
Nancy’s voice had soured, & her face suddenly portrayed a side darker to what he’d known.
“What do you mean she’s no longer here?” quizzed Sul Sul.
Something was off in the way Nancy had spoke.
Her expression softened again, mask reapplied.
“Nothing… Only I assume she’d have joined us by now. Unless she is here…”
Sul Sul sighed. “No, actually. We got separated.”
“Pity,” said Nancy. “So, what luck has my sweet snack had in solving his mystery?”
Sul Sul toyed with what to share. In actuality he knew very little of this woman.
“Some. I’ve an idea of where to learn more, but I need a boat…”
“A boat? Why ever would you need one of those?”
“I’m looking for an island… Do you happen to know of any nearby?”
Nancy laughed. “Sul Sul, we’re in Tartosa. There’s hundreds.”
His heart sank.
“Look. I so happen to have the Titancy parked down at the dock. I could take you wherever you need to go. No questions asked.”
“Really? You’d do that for me?” smiled Sul Sul.
“It’d be my pleasure,” said Nancy, stroking his chest. “And perhaps we could partake in another kind of pleasure too…”
Sul Sul recoiled.
“Not now, Nancy. This is urgent.”
She scoffed. “Fine. Meet me in an hour. Don’t be late.”
When Sul Sul arrived in town an hour later, he headed straight for the dock.
As he drew closer, he realised he could see no sign of Nancy nor her yacht.
Instead he was greeted by another familiar face.
“Sul Sul!” yelled Agent Fizz, as they drew closer. “You actually came!”
“Agent Fizz… I’m meeting Nancy here.”
“Yeah. Well you got me instead. I guess I’m just another of her brainless lackeys now. You got me in a lot of trouble, you know that?”
Sul Sul was completely baffled.
“Penelope & Daisy are both missing. Did you know that?”
Agent Fizz raised his hands to his mouth & feigned a gasp.
“Really? I…. Actually y’know what Sul Sul, I can’t even be bothered with the charade. Look, don’t worry about them now. You’re following in their footsteps anyway.”
“You!” Sul Sul exclaimed. “You’re the dirty agent!”
“Congrats Sul Sul. You finally figured it out. Too bad it was at the final hour.”
“You’re why I washed up here…”
Agent Fizz sighed.
“Well I can’t take all the credit, but time’s up. You’ve been a pain in our butt far too long. We should’ve killed you properly the first time.”
Before Sul Sul had time to think, Agent Fizz & his hitmen had encircled him.
They may have failed to get rid of him as a soldier, but it was unlikely they’d make the same mistake again.
Within moments he’d been forced towards a small boat & hurled onto it.
“Its over, Sul Sul.”
