Author's Note

This chapter has been edited due to a slight change in the character's dynamics.

Chapter 3: Work for it

"So, uh, what's the story with him?" asked Scott, cocking his head towards Henry, who was being shown around by Kong.

"Funny, 'cause yesterday he kept asking about you," replied Sierra.

"Well, I'm probably the first naked monkey he's ever seen so that's not too suprising."

"No, I mean he was asking about what brought you to us."

"Oh, like how I became your lord and savior?"

Sierra rolled her eyes. "Anyways, Abigail says Henry was from an orphanage, and with the help of one concerned staff member, he was able to submit in a letter requesting to be recruited. That was two days ago. He left the orphanage and came to us when we accepted his request just yesterday."

"How come I wasn't even aware of this?" Scott shook his head disappointedly. "This isn't the kind of synergy that I expect from my team of fiery furries."

"You weren't aware of it because you kept leaving the house to prepare for your 'big plan' to heist the wolfgang's hideout. You still owe us an explanation for what exactly you did inside by the way."

"So I guess bounty hunters are accepting kids now? Shouldn't that be, like, a no-no?"

"They don't necessarily have to partake in every job that requires a bit of dirty work if they don't have to. And there really isn't any dirty work, legally speaking, that bounty hunting groups actually do anyways, since it's a profession that's somewhat adjacent to the law."

"I guess that sorta makes sense. But if he somehow turns out to be one of those kids with violent tendencies hell-bent on spilling blood, I'm not gonna be the one taking him to work."

Abigail came in through the front door, and held up a slip of paper.

"Got something for me?" He says, eyeing the slip. She gave it to him and he saw that it was a home adress to a mansion, based on the cursive writing and the over-all sophisticated design.

"Madam Jouse," said Abigail. "She owns a number of properties all across Venesse and even a few estates in Abyssinia and Equestria."

"Equestria. I've been hearing that name recently."

"That's because one of their co-rulers is visiting Venesse today to meet with the queen. Some say it's probably about a diplomatic discussion, but some of the more crazies are spreading a bunch of colonization dispute conspiracies," explained Abigail.

Scott made a disgusted face. "Politics. Yuck."

"Didn't you say that you worked in one of those... what did you call it?" asked Sierra.

"Law firms, yeah I know. That's why I left. While they don't really have too much politics in them, I found out that insurance investigating was a lot more in my alley. Anyways," he turns to Abigail, ignoring the confused looks, "what's the job with this Madam Jouse? You didn't bring any entailers." He flipped over the home adress slip and looked for the nonexistent job description.

"She wants to meet you in person and discuss the details in her mansion. She asked for you specifically, but said that you could bring atleast one partner."

"Me specifically, huh?"

Kong and Henry approached the living room with Kong explaining to Henry the ins-and-outs of their everyday activities. "Now with Abigail here," he says in a slightly chippier but still as low and gravelly voice, "amongst other things, she's mostly responsible for computing and budgeting the bits that we earn from bounty hunting. Sometimes, she's also the one who goes to the bounty pot to pick out a job for the misfits. The bounty pot—"

"Is where licensed bounty hunters can pick out jobs that they want to take," Henry explained for himself.

"Right again." Kong smiled sweetly at Henry. "You seem to know a lot about bounty hunting already. If I didn't know any better, I'd say you've done it before." He patted him on the head.

"Well, I know just the basics. Even while I was in the orphanage, I had already been developing an interest in the profession."

"And for an eight year old, he's pretty articulate too," commented Abigail.

"As far as I understand, bounty hunters are licensed contractors who deal with certain problems that a citizen has that the law just doesn't have the time or resource to deal with. A bounty hunter's employer could either come from a public commission or a private commision. Public commisioning is posting a job that's anyone's for the taking, whereas private commissioning is where an employer chooses a specific bounty hunter or group that's enlisted within the area. Private commissioning is very advantageous especially, since an employer could see the profile of who they're making a contract with before they establish a deal. Things like what that specific bounty hunter or group is especially good at dealing with or how high their ratings are based on past performances can be seen in the bounty pot."

"Very good, Henry. That is an impressive amount of basic knowledge on bounty hunting," said Kong, surprised and impressed as well as everyone else in the room.

"And he worded it really well too," noted Abigail. "Are you really eight years old?"

"Kong is smiling right now. Is anyone else seeing this? Why am I the only one noticing that?" Scott interjected.

"He always smiles around kids," explained Sierra as Kong continues talking to Henry about the importance of picking the right job at the right time. "That's always been a consistent thing about him. Whenever kids are around, he tends to always be in a better mood. It has something to do with the spirit of youth that always gets him smiling for some reason."

"So why the hell was he so nice to me the first time we me—"

"He thought you were a baby gorilla," explained Abigail, giggling. Sierra was smiling.

"Wait a minute, is that a smile I see?" Scott said to Sierra. "Wow, what a sight. It's like lightning and a rainbow at the same time."

"So what's the pay for this job?" Sierra asked Abigail, getting back on the topic.

"500k bits," Abigail answered as Kong and Henry finish talking. They all appeared surprised except for Scott who still doesn't have a complete understanding of the currency system.

"Isn't that, like, twice what Winston paid us?" asked Scott.

"I'm guessing that's why you took it even without a job entailer," Sierra said.

"Yep. Plus, I know Scotty can handle whatever it is she wants him to do anyways, so it wasn't that big a risk to take," Abigail explained, smiling confidently at their human breadwinner.

"That's a lot of bits," commented Henry. "Are you always getting high paying requests this easy?"

"Ever since he arrived," Kong said, pointing a finger to their human.

Scott smiled at the seven-foot dog. "That's the first nice thing you've ever said to me since you found out that I wasn't actually a baby gorilla," he said.

"It wasn't a compliment. I was merely stating a fact," explained Kong, returning to his low, gravelly voice that carried no life or enthusiasm whatsoever, a jarring contrast to Abigail's excitableness but a close relative to Sierra's cold objectivity.

"Ok. anyways, I guess I'll bring one of you with me," Scott said, panning his head around the room of diverse creatures.

Abigail perked up. "I could— "

"Henry," he called, pointing a finger to the green and yellow parrot.

"Yes?" Answered Henry.

"C'mon. You're coming with me." Henry marched over to the human, his feet clacking lightly on the floorboards.

"But I'm still briefing him," said Kong.

"I got it from here, big guy," Scott answered, patting the large dog on his equally large bicep, which to note was a lot thicker than the human's head. "You're gonna see me work, okay?" he told Henry as they leave through the door.

"Should we stop them...?" Abigail asked.

Sierra shook her head. "Madam Jouse was it?" Abigail nodded. "If she asked for Scott specifically, then this probably doesn't invlove much violence. If I'm reading the situation right, I'm guessing she's heard about him from someone else. Plus the kid could learn a thing or two from him if nothing else. He's a got a brain up his head; maybe Scott can make it a bit bigger."

Scott and Henry leave the misfits group hideout, which incidently was leaning a little towards more on the secluded side of Venesse, having a bit of an open space between the actually house and a lining of trees surrounding it.

The whole area itself was situated on a lower level of ground (kind of like a zoo enclosure) and once they reached the wall on the edge, they had to climb up a wooden staircase into a modest cluster of trees.

The entire establishment, including the lower and upper ground, seemed to have been made for an amusement park or a place where sports-related events would take place were it actually finished, but is now just functioning as a moderately covert hideout for the bounty hunting group. Whatever it was made for, it was definitely huge in terms of land to be just used as a place to reside in.

At the end of the mini garden/forest where they walk through a cobble path, they open a gate leading to the town. Once outside, they begin their walk to the designated home address with Scott occasionally taking a peak at the slip.

"So I guess this'll be your first mission as a bounty hunter since you left the orphanage, huh?" said Scott. "If you ask me, I honestly didn't expect kids to be allowed in such a bussiness."

"I hope I can be of some help to you, Mr. Scott. Even if you probably might not even need me for anything at all."

"Oh yeah? Why's that?" He craned his neck down to him.

"Well, they said that you were very smart and good at solving mysteries, and that you always find a way to surprise them on your own."

"Really? What else did they say about me?"

"That you were also annoying enough to balance it out."

Scott chuckled. "I'm guessing the meany with the scarf made that particular comment, didn't she?" Henry smiled as a way of saying yes. "Listen here, Henry. She may seem like a little grumpy kitty on the outside, but deep down in her fluffy core, she's just a softy that needs to be given tons of hugs and attention. So remember to make sure that she always feels loved no matter how she acts, alright?"

Henry didn't know what to say, and decided to just nod. He could already tell that he was going to have to get some getting used to when it comes to the human's forthcoming personality, but was also very glad that he submitted his request to join the misfits. Leaving the orphanage was the right choice, and he had a colorful future ahead of him with his new found family.

"Alright, that's two days in a row that Scotty's gotten us more than we earn in a month. At this rate, we might even be able to go on a vacation," Abigail said.

"Hold on just a second. They haven't even left the house for more than ten minutes and you're already thinking about what we can do with the bits," Sierra reprimands. "Let's not get too ahead of ourselves. In case you've forgotten, the mortgage is due next week."

"Yeah, I know, but with yesterday's mission and today's 500k bits, we'll be covered for the next..." she computes, "five months! Including the mortgage."

"If he succeeds. I don't care how smart Hyde is; you should never overlook the possibility of failure."

"But Scotty's never failed us..."

"Yet. You have to think of the possibility that he could actually come walking in through that door without a bag of bits to tell us how easy it was. Unless you don't want to pay off your grandfather's debt, we have to remember that putting trust on the idea that everything will work out eventually never works. You and I both know that that's not gonna change no matter how hopeful he makes you feel."

Sierra seemed to get through to her as Abigail slightly sags in shame, her earlier enthusiasm and confidence in the abilities of their human boy wonder seeming to be replaced with the bitter memory of the life they had to endure as kids and the tough lessons that came with it. "You're right, I get it..." Abigail replied weakly.

"In the meantime, you and I are going to the bounty pot," Sierra continues as she grabs Abigail by the shirt, dragging her to the door.

"Wha- what for?!" asked Abigail, caught by surprise.

"We're taking a job for ourselves. I'm in the mood to hurt something."

"Maybe direct that urge towards something else?" She pulls at the colar of her shirt to prevent herself from choking as she gets dragged out of the house.

As soon as they leave, Kong comes down from the stairs. He looks around the empty room, before going back up with a shrug.

The street makes way for the palanquin. Citizens of all kinds are pushed back by royal pony gaurds as they gawk at the majestic ruler of the ponies of Equestria.

Celestia waved with a smile, her hair billowing with an extra regality. She sighs as she looks around the streets of the 'less fortunate' side of the country which was still notably more impressive compared to the 'slums' of other nations. Less fortunate my flank. Celestia took note of the way the streets were well paved and mostly uncracked. He really went overboard with the management, huh. If this is the least wealthy city, then I'm afraid to see what the capital looks like.

"She is the epitome of fabulous horses. I really can't believe I'm actually staring at a real allicorn with rainbow hair. Wow," commented Scott, he and Henry pausing on the road to watch the seen from afar.

"She's Princess Celestia. She and her sister rule the pony nation of Equestria. This is the first time I've seen her this close," Henry explained, staring in wonder at their world's most famous diarch.

Scott stared down at Henry, and gave him an inquisitive look. "You sure you're a parrot? 'Cause I'm getting the feeling that you're actually a walking encyclopedia masquerading as a cute bird all this time." He stares at his watch. "Anyways, we gotta get going. Just a few blocks left to go so let's hurry before Madam Goose gets impatient."

They resumed their walk.

A few blocks later and they arrive at the Hamilton Residence. Scott surveys the entrance and garden before pressing the doorbell, which still astounded him.

"What the hell even powers this thing?" he asks.

"Magic. Only the fortunate few who can afford magic appliances and devices usually have them, unless you live in a place populated with a lot of unicorns where they are less pricy. Why? Are there other alternatives from where you're from that operates doorbells?"

Scott shook his head and waved Henry's question off. "Discussion for a different time."

A pig butler opens the gate for them, and gestures a hand inside. "Scott Hyde and... company, Madam Jouse is waiting for you," said the butler.

"Lead the way, porky." The butler made no reaction as he led them through the walkway to the large house. "Wait, was that racist?" Scott whispers to Henry. "Should I not be saying stuff like that? 'Cause with his facial expressions, it's really hard to tell." Henry rolled his eyes, an expression that looked really funny on a parrot, Scott thought.

They arrive at the large double doors which was quickly opened by the butler, making way for the first room of the mansion.

Scott looked up as a female pig came down from the right side of the twin staircase, her body just a bit fatter than the already fat butler, he thought. It's probably from the excessive wealthiness.

"Ah, Mr. Hyde. It seems you're finally here," greeted Madam Jouse, seeming to have trouble coming down without breaking a sweat.

They waited patiently for her to finish her supposed fashionable entrance as Scott pretended to cough in his fist in an attempt to mitigate the awkward silence. The large room held no sound other than the clacking of her heels for each step she took.

"This is painful to watch," Scott comments, the butler ever so slightly showing a hint of an amused smile. "I think by the time she reaches us, my people will have already found a way to bring me home."

Finally reaching the bottom of the stairs, Madam Jouse greets them with a smile, the mole on her right cheek perking up with the stretch of her skin. "Welcome to my abode. Let us discuss matters in the living room shall we?" She walks further into the mansion as Scott and Henry follow. "I'm aware that you've done a job for Winston as of recently," continued Madam Jouse as they proceed to the living room, where three sofas face a table in front of a fireplace.

The curator?, thought Scott. So he's where she's heard me from.

"He tells me you've helped retrieve the Jade Medallion from the wolfgang, which I must say, is anything but a simple task. People usually stray away from anything wolfgang related as much as they can. Even bounty hunters have ignored Winston's public request to retrieve his precious medallion, which had already been stolen for three years. His commission sheet had been sitting on the public board all this time up until you decided to pick it up, which is nothing short of a bold move." More like a clueless one, Scott thought.

"I'm aware about the wolfgang. Sierra and the rest of my team made sure of that," Scott answered with a chuckle.

"Ah, Sierra. The ex Abyssinian wolfgang member. That's a name that's pretty famous amongst bounty hunters. I heard she set the record for highest success rate in the bounty pot. Did you know that she used to work alone before she decided to create a team?"

"Oh really? She didn't say."

"Honestly, no one knows what made her suddenly change her mind. She once thought that being alone was the most efficient way, because she had no one to share her earnings with. She used to absolutely despise bounty groups until just six years ago."

So the misfits is just six years old, huh? "How would anyone know that it was me specifically that took Winston's commission anyways?"

"Simple enough. As mentioned, Winston's request had long been posted in the public board, so everyone in the bounty pot is talking about the strange creature that had suddenly taken it out of its rightful spot."

Scott nodded around, taking in the details of the room under unsuspecting eyes and never failing to mask his deductive curiosity with a seemingly ingenuous expression. "So does that make me a celebrity now?" he continued.

Madam Jouse frowned. "Not so much. You must know that there are many skilled bounty hunters out there who definitely have the ability to do what you did. What scares them, however, is the ramifications."

"No one wants to mess with the wolfgang."

"Precisely. On a different note, while Venesse isn't a stranger to diversity, you seem to take the cake on being one of a kind as far as rare species go," she comments.

"Strangely enough, I don't really get direct questions about that as often as I expected to be honest. I guess there are still certain boundaries when it comes to racial matters no matter how curious people get, huh?" He claps his hands together, "So, uh, what seems to be bothering you, Madam Jouse?" he asks, sitting down on one of the couches. He decides to take a look at the family photos that sat on the table as Henry takes a seat next to him. So they have magic powered cameras too, huh? Duly noted.

"It's about a particular statue in my mansion. Two days ago, it was stolen."

"How'd you know it was stolen?" He picks up two, wooden framed photos. In both contained what he assumed was the whole piggy family.

"Well, when something you own goes missing without your consent or knowledge, that's usually the implication, isn't it?"

"Fair enough. But why a statue? Wouldn't a burglar usually go for something more lucrative?" He flipped the photo around to look at the back. "And I'd imagine it'd be hard to transport something like a statue as opposed to maybe a luxury lamp or even a few jewelries."

"That's because the statue isn't made out of ordinary stone. The statue, you see, is a family memorabilia, and it's made out of a very rare material. If someone else took a look at it, all they'd see is a piece of sculptured rock, but give an expert a chance to examine it and they'd know that it's worth more than this entire house."

"Hmm. Interesting." Scott put the the two photos beside each other on the table. He takes closer look at the first one as Henry observed everything he did with a curiosity.

"What are you doing?" Whispered Henry.

"Taking a peak," he replied. The first photo was taken in front of the mansion. It had Madam Jouse in it, as well as a male pig in a suit—probably her husband—a slightly smaller pig—son maybe?—and a much smaller little girl pig—There's the one and only peppa. The butler was in it as well, and every member in the photo had smiles except for the butler and the son. The second photo had the same people in it, except for an extra member, a slim looking sheep guy in a polo shirt and slacks who had the biggest smile in the photo. "Um, just out of curiosity, when was this taken?" He raised the first one.

"As I recall..." she squinted at the photo, "about probably a year ago."

Scott returned it, and raised the second one. "And this one?"

"That one's pretty recent. Just a week ago after my son's birthday." She points to each member, "This is my husband Anthony, my son Michael, and my daughter Irene." Scott pointed to the sheep. "Oh, that's Michael's friend Thomas."

"Wait, what was that?" Scott asked, looking her in the eyes.

"What was what," replied Madam Jouse, confused.

"Why'd you not mention him right away? Is there something about him not worth mentioning?" Scott pried.

"I don't see why it would be relevant to this."

"Fair enough," he gestured for her to continue, standing up. He walked over to a pair of glass doors and peered out into a playground.

"I want you to find out who stole my statue and return it to me in one piece. The lady in the bounty pot said that your ratings on mystery solving were high so I hope that you live up to your expectations. As I've told your rabbit friend, I will be paying you five hundred thousand bits if you succeed, and I hope you do; that statue has been in my family for generations and I absolutely hate being the one to have lost it."

"You have a playground. That's cute." Scott opens the glass doors and walks out, the grass scrunching under his shoes.

"Yes, we had a tree removed there to make way for a playground seven years ago when Irene was born. Although she never actually played in it; her attention was mostly on her dolls so it sort of just sat there.

Henry watched as Scott circled the playground, eyeing the swings and slides with squinted eyes. What's he doing now?, thought Henry. Scott crouched down onto the sandbox and pinched the sand with his fingertips. "Hmm."

"Why don't I show you the room of the statue before it went missing?"

"Sure." Scott stood up and dusted off his hands.

Madam Jouse led the way up the stairs as they followed from behind with Scott looking around.

"Is this really how it usually goes?" whispered Henry to Scott.

"What do you mean?" Whispered Scott back as they begin climbing up the stairs.

"I mean, this all seems like investigation work. Aren't the authorities supposed to be responsible for dealing with stuff like this?"

"Some nine year old you are, you know that?" Seeing the confused look on Henry, Scott answered his question, "I don't know. I mean, I guess they could be."

"So why don't you?"

"Why don't I what?"

"Be a part of the queen's justice enforcers. You could catch criminals by doing this stuff, can't you?"

"Well, I could, but the question to that is would I rather catch bad guys for the sake of justice and earn enough to make a living or catch bad guys for five hundred thousand bits?" Still not completely sure of how that amounts to in US dollars, Scott figured that using it as an example would prove his point in some way, and the look on Henry's face when he seemed to not have an answer told him that he was probably right to do so.

Arriving on the second floor, they walk to the left hallway and stop at a door at the very far end. "This is it," said Madam Jouse.

She opens the door with a key and shows an empty room with a large, flat, square thing in the middle. "I'm guessing that's where the statue was perched on," said Scott.

"It is," answered Madam Jouse as they enter the room.

"Where's the rest of the family anyways?" asked Scott. "It seems like it's just you and pork Alfred in the house."

"My husband's still at work, and Irene is still at school while Michael is out with Thomas." Scott noticed that she seemed to show a bit of disdain at the mention of Thomas' name.

He decided he would prod a bit in that direction without seeming too nosy and direct. "They seem like good friends, Michael and Thomas. They kind of remind me of me and my childhood friend in the photo," he tried to small talk, circling the room and examining everything. He pokes his head out of the one window and looks down onto the playground.

Madam Jouse sighed. "That's if your childhood friend was slowly turning into a sloth," she said with a bit of bated irritation, almost cautious with her own words.

There's the passive aggressive. "Oh, so Thomas is a sloth?" Scott pried further, stepping away from the window.

Madam Jouse bit her tongue and sighed through her nose. "It's just... Thomas' family had always been close with ours. Our family fortunes were mostly what brought us together and we've always been friends throughout the years, but recently Thomas' mother had decided to cut him off the family's wealth and let him live independently."

"Let the bird fly on it's own, right?"

"Yes. He's been living on his own since, but the thing is... Every now and then, Michael would lend some bits to Thomas as a way of helping him during tough times, but it seems like it causes him to go back to his old habits of not working for his own money at all and he just ends up lazying around, sometimes in our house."

"So you think that Thomas is leeching off of your son's generosity."

She sighed and hesitated for a second. "I've known Thomas ever since he and Michael were just children. He is a good kid; honest and kind. But that is what it feels like, yes."

"Hmm. Because Thomas has always been a good kid to you, you hate to admit that he's even close to anything other than that image you've set on him." Madam Jouse nodded, a little surprised to be hearing this kind of talk from someone who's supposed to just find a missing statue. "That's understandable. So, tell me about the day the statue went missing," he smoothly brought the topic back.

"Um, well. Earlier that day, our butler Josiah had massive headaches so I had to give him the day off, and while my husband was at work, me and the kids went out for a just a few hours so no one was left in the house. Then that's when we came home to find that the statue was no where to be seen again. Here's what it looked like by the way." She showed Scott a single photograph of the statue. It was about at least six-foot tall, and it looked like a muscular pig that had a moustache and weilded a sword. He nodded at it and asked if he could have a copy. "Oh you could take this one. I had three made in case you would need it."

"Thank you." Scott pocketed it in his jacket. A butler that was sick and had to go home; a husband at work; a mother that went out with her kids, and a large mansion left to fend for itself. I wonder what Thomas was up to during that time. Still looking around the room for anything noteworthy, Scott allowed himself to feel the scruffiness of his stubble. "You wouldn't happen to remember the time you went out and returned would you?"

"It was somewhere around four thirty in the afternoon when me and my kids left the house. My husband has to be in the bank by six in the morning so he wakes up at four and prepares until then."

"You see him leave?"

"I'm sorry?"

"Did you see him leave the house?"

"Yes, I saw him out the door myself." Scott nodded. "Anyways, by the time we got home it was already seven."

"Hmm, seven."

"I remember checking the time just before I found the statue missing."

"Quick question, is Josiah really your only butler in the house? For someone of your stature, I'd imagine more people would be running around to tend to this place."

"Yes he is. Truth be told, we only really need one. Unlike most wealthy households, we don't baby ourselves with a number of helpers. If there is something that we could do ourselves, then there's no reason to hire another employee for it."

"I like that way of thinking." Weird that it came from a family of chubby piggies though.

"Furthermore, I trust him with my life, and I know that he regards me in the same way. When I took him in, he and his family were just barely squeezing by. He was just a construction worker barely able to provide for them and he's more than expressed how greatful he is to me."

"Nice origin story."

"Yes, I'm afraid he's led a tough and noble life, and he deserves the position I've given him."

All the attention was suddenly diverted to the butler, Josiah, who enters the room with a knock. "Madam, your son and Thomas are here," he announced.

"Oh. Great timing. Just the people I wanted to see," Scott said enthusiastically, clapping his hands together.

"Are you sure about that one?" asked Abigail, her and Sierra standing in front of a large bulletin board filled with public commissions. "It says we have to tie him in chains."

"I'll be in charge with the chain tying. You chase him down."

"Why can't Kong chase him? He's strong; he could tie him up too with just one hand."

"You're stronger. Besides, he's doing his laundry today. It's decided." Sierra snatched the commission slip from the public board and read the adress as they exit through the doors. Tailing behind, Abigail groans. "Stop complaining. You're acting like a child."

"But I don't want to chase some slimy frog," Abigail complained.

"We're back, mom!" exclaimed Michael, giving Scott a disdainful look the moment he saw him. "Is this the bounty hunter? What in the world even is his species?" he asked, looking Scott up and down.

"Michael. Be nice," scolded Madam Jouse.

"Jesus. He's rude," Scott comments, ignoring the offended look from Michael and the tugs of protest from an uncomfortable Henry.

"I'm telling you, mom. It's a good thing that statue's gone. You don't need to hire a bunch of uneducated bounty hunters to go look for it," Michael continued as Thomas proceeds further into the house and makes himself comfortable with Scott eyeing him the whole time with amusement.

"I'll have you know, I have a master's degree in law," defended Scott, looking back to them.

"Yeah, sure you do," said Michael, rolling his eyes and choosing to pretend to know what a master's degree is out of pride. "Where's your proof then?"

"Well, I'd shove the diploma in your face myself, but unfortunately it's within another dimension."

Michael snorts and follows after Thomas in the living room. "Knew it. Lies and excuses is all you ruffians know," he mutters while walking away.

"I'm sorry about him," apoligized Madam Jouse, shaking her head. "If there's one thing a million bits can't buy, it's a humble first born."

"Don't. It's not your fault if you have an overbearing husband and a spoiled, adult son."

"Wha— Now what would make you think that my husband is overbearing?" she asked, a bit shocked to hear such a bold and seemingly irrelevant statement.

"Oh, sorry. It's just, your son exudes so much pettiness that it's obvious he's overcompensating for a lack of attention." When only more confused looks from both Madam Jouse and Henry was recieved, Scott continued, "He didn't strike me the type to be gregarious in a way that he'd have other outside influences for his personality so I'm guessing his brash and self-obsorbed behaviour comes from something a little more close to home. You see, children closer to their blood rather than other people are usually bound to be mirrors of their parents, and seeing as you seem to appear to be as focused and indifferent as how every normal individual planning to be parents should be, that only leaves your husband to be the chief role model for your son's core behaviours. I only hope that your daughter isn't treated the same way, because I absolutely hate it when little girls are subjected to a life of petty tyranny." Shaking his head, Scott marches back into the living room, saying, "I think I'm gonna have a little chat with Thomas and Michael. I hope you don't mind me taking a gander around."

Madam Jouse was at a loss for words. She couldn't begin to pretend that she's met someone as eccentric as him, but was sure of one thing: he definitely pays more attention to his surroundings than he lets on. Way more attention than the normalcy for bounty hunting warrants.

In the living room, Thomas sat at a couch and scratched at his white, wool covered belly while Michael rifled through a jar of candies on a table in the corner, helping himself for a greedy afternoon snack which Scott regarded with a bit of distaste.

Busy fellows, Scott thought. "Where you guys been?" he asked nonchalantly, causing both heads to turn his way in surprise.

"Huh?" Michael said as Thomas craned his neck behind the couch to get a look at the human. Well this guy hasn't said shit since he got here, Scott thought.

"Where'd you guys went out to?" he clarified.

"What's it to you," retorted Michael.

"You don't like me very much, do you?"

"You got that right." He popped a piece of candy in his mouth. "Looks like you're good at pointing at the obvious. Tell me, is my mom paying you for being useless? 'Cause I can't tell what your use is other than standing around and pretending to know what you're doing."

Scott chuckles. "Oh, don't you worry. I'll find that statue. There's something I'm curious about though. Why do you think that it's good the statue's gone?"

"It's not worth anyone's time. It's just a dumb statue of our dumb ancestor who got killed by a bug bear."

"You're hiding something. There's a more specific reason you don't like that statue, isn't there." Michael couldn't help but feel a little backed up from the human's sudden directness. "You think that it's a waste of space don't you? You think that there's something else that that room could be of use to instead of just keeping a piece of rock for reasons you find unnecessary." Scott could see in Michael's face that his guesses were landing correctly and couldn't help but smile inwardly.

"So what if it is? It doesn't matter now. Mom's statue is gone, and me and Tom can use it to— you know what, I don't even need to tell you why; it's none of your bussiness, you creepy monkey."

"Fine don't tell me. I know the answer anyways." Scott walked away from Michael who couldn't tell if he was bluffing, and approached Thomas who had been watching nervously the whole time. "So, tell me. Wolf in sheep's clothing, or just silence of the lamb?"

"What?" articulately replied Thomas.

"Ah, his first words."

"Look, dude. I just want to relax for now. There's nothing that I know that would help you, I swear."

"Sure there is. I want to know what you and Michael went out for. And don't even think about lying to me; I'd know."

"Wha— we, uh— we just went bowling."

"Hmm." Scott nodded and walked away, leaving the two completely confused. "Thanks for your time," he said, not looking back.

Making his way out of the living room, he encounters the butler, who was stationed to the side of the living room doorway, patiently standing with his hands folded over each other as if waiting for him to leave. Scott stops for a second, and looks over to him.

"Is... there something wrong?" asked the butler.

"Josiah, right?"

"Uh, yes."

"Nice ring," Scott says, taking his hand to inspect it. "Looks really expensive."

"It was given to me by my grandmother just before she passed."

Scott nodded. "Oh, nice. Anyways, how would you say working for the Hamiltons is treating you?"

"I... I'm afraid I don't understa—"

"Don't you have any problems with being the only butler?" Scott elaborated. "Is the workload too much to handle, or are they really as independent as they say? Are you satisfied with how they're paying you?" he asked further, never breaking eye contact.

Being suddenly bombarded with uncomfortable questions, Josiah decided to gather himself before stating simply, "I do not think that the workload is too much."

His eyes never leaving the butler's expressions, Scott nods slowly before walking away towards where Henry and Madam Jouse were making small talk.

"Are you done talking with them?" asked Madam Jouse. "What did you talk about?"

"This and that," Scott said, gesturing to Henry for them to leave. "When's your husband and daughter coming home by the way?"

Madam Jouse looks to her watch. "In thirty minutes, I will be picking up Irene from school, and Anthony will come home an hour after that. I'll have you know, Mr. Hyde, that there is no reason for you to suspect everyone you see. I'm confident that this was done by a criminal or group of criminals, otherwise the implication that my family was somehow involved in this is simply ludicrous."

"Hmm. We'll see." They make their way to the door. "We'll be in touch."

Scott and Henry leave the mansion. Just as they were about to walk home, Henry was surprised to see that Scott walks the opposite direction. "Wait, where are we going?" he asked, running to the human's side.

Staying silent and in a hurry, Scott finds the nearest passerby and asks her a question that Henry wasn't able to hear clearly. The passerby answers his question by pointing in a certain direction, and Scott nods, thanking the passerby, before walking to who knows where.

Following the human's questionable decisions, Henry tails him before they find themselves in an alley where three, large dumpsters were backed up against a wall.

Further raising questions, Scott begins looking through the garbage as Henry stammers a question that he can't quite successfully form into words.

Scott opens the first dumpster and shakes his head. He does the same with the second one. He opens the third one and smiles. "Bingo!"

At this point, Henry was starting to get extremely worried for the human's mental health. Whether or not they forgot to mention that one of his unique traits were a fascination for dumpster diving, Henry made a mental note to ask the misfits why they felt the need to keep it from him.

Closing the dumpster and dusting his hands off, Scott makes his way out the alley. "Let's go," he said.

"Wha— wait. What did you do there?" Henry asked, hiking a thumb back to the alley.

"Just checked something out. Don't worry; I'm not a serial dumpster diver. Let's get going; I need to meet with someone."

"Oh, ok."

"Oh no," Abigail groaned, "we're here."

"Relax. This is gonna be easy money," came the unenthusiastic reply of Sierra, doing little to boost morale.

The both of them stood before a very wooden and very creaky, two-story house that was old and greying. Surrounding it was a wide area that seemed like a close imitation of the misfits hideout only without the lower level of ground and the much bigger land occupation. It appeared more like a swamp than a forest, and Abigail wished she'd brought a handkerchief.

Stepping into the creaky front porch, they knock on the door. When no response was recieved, they knock again, causing the unlocked door to creak open. "Wow. Everything creaks here, huh?" came Abigail's unhelpful comment of the day.

Looking at each other for about a full five seconds of indecision, they decided to go in.

"Hello?" Sierra called out to the long, wooden hallway. "Anyone home? We saw your commission in the public board!"

No response.

"Maybe we should come back? When it's—" Sierra walked further inside, causing Abigail's suggestion to get cut off and her face to force an inward smile.

They walk in a cautious and leisurely pace with the floorboards creaking beneath their feet. The hall stretched further into a wide doorway to a bigger room, presumably the living area.

In a low volume, Abigail says, "You know, I get that this is worth five thousand bits, but why in the world would some guy pay that much to be chased around for no reason?"

"Our job isn't to know why we're getting paid, Abigail. Like it or not, this is the highest reward we could find that doesn't take too long to accomplish."

"You mean without Scott's help?"

"Stop that."

"Just saying."

"Would you be honest with me, What's up with you lately? Are you starting to develop a crush on him or what?"

"Wha— uh— what?!" Abigail stammered, caught off gaurd. "What makes you think that?"

"All I'm saying is, you keep this up and everyone's gonna start thinking it too."

Any further response from the rabbit was put on hold as the sound of a piano being played was faintly heard from somewhere deeper within.

They both look at each other, and slowly make their way to the end where they turn left to spot a piano being played by a large frog person who was atleast just a few inches shorter than Kong but definitely twice as wide.

The frog's closed eyes opens and he stops in his solo performance to greet his guests with a smile. "Oh, I didn't hear you come in. Please, take a seat," he gestured to some chairs, his voice booming deep and from the gut.

"Um, hello, sir," said Abigail. "We, uh, we're here about the commission. It says we'll be chasing you and putting you in chains?" Although, why someone'd do that is just questionable.

"Oh! Oh no no no," the frog said, shaking his hands about as if a misunderstanding was made. "You won't be chasing me I'm afraid."

"We're... not?" asked Sierra, she and Abigail giving each other side glances of confusion.

"Oh no. I want you to chase my brother." The frog closes the piano and stands up. "My name is Gustov," he introduced. "You see, my brother has a bit of a problem up there," he points to his brain for emphasis, "and every now and then, he runs off to faust knows where, and I have to chase him down to give him his medicine."

"So what stops you from doing it yourself?" asked Abigail, recieving an elbow to the rib by her feline companion.

"Well, as of right now, he's being pretty extra slippery, and as a sweet bonus, I also kind of have a problem with my back."

"Alright, so where is he?" asked Sierra, all but ready to start.

Gustov sucked some air through his teeth and put a hand to the back of what's left of his neck, "You see, that's the thing..."

"Oh no, there's a thing. What's the thing?" groaned Abigail, making a face that said she just wanted to get things over with.

"I don't know where he is," Gustov finished. "I was really hoping that whoever was up for the task could also track him down for me."

"And you didn't feel the need to add that little detail with the job entailer?" asked Sierra, irritation oozing from her voice.

"Wha— well, I thought that adding it would... somehow... discourage... you..."

"What," came the Abyssinian's very unhappy reply.

"You two, beautiful girls seem like very good trackers. I assume this should be pretty easy for you, right?" Gustov bargained poorly, frantically trying to butter the duo up with compliments.

Abigail and Sierra gave each other a look of mutual understanding, raising their eyebrows, then turned to leave.

"Wait! Ok, I'll double your pay!"

They stopped for a second to think about it, then continued walking.

"Ok, I'll triple it!"

They were nearing the hall.

"Twenty thousand bits! I'll pay you Twenty. Thousand. Bits."

Stopping by the hall, they gave each other knowing smirks, before turning to face a nervous Gustov. "Deal," nodded Sierra, making evryone happy.

Henry stood patiently outside of the cafe. Having been told to wait by Scott has left him with nothing better to do but peer inside as the human chats with a weasel.

Judging by his choice of wardrobe and mannerisms, Henry could tell that the weasel was some type of crook. He couldn't tell what Scott would need to talk to a crook with, but he was definitely going to ask.

After what felt like an hour, Scott came out.

"Let's go," he said once again as they started walking towards home.

"Who did you talk to?"

"Pep."

"Who's Pep?"

"My trusted informant."

"He looked like some kind of crook."

"Some kind. He's a pretty good person at heart, and I make sure to keep him in line."

After a while, Henry decided to say, "So is this what you do? You walk around town, gathering information and that's how you solve mysteries?"

"I guess you could put it that way. You know, the way you talk really makes me think you're not really eight years old. You're so... eloquent. I haven't actually seen an adult parrot so maybe you're just messing with me and the misfits is in on it. Is that it? Is that what's going on?"

"Well, do I sound like I'm not eight?"

Scott tore his eyes away from the road to look down at the parrot with an amused smile. "Point taken." This kid is just.., he thought himself, having a personal liking to eccentrically mature kids.

They came home to find no one in the living room and dining area.

"Hey Kong?" Scott called out, and was answered by a head poking out from the door to the laundry room just outside of the dining area. "Where's everyone?"

"Went out," Kong answered.

Scott went in, leaving the door open with Henry waiting outside. "Well, I hope you're not busy."

"Actually, I'm doing my lau—"

"I need you for something, and it's pretty urgent." Scott looked down to his watch.

"Well, I—"

"Great. We'll wait outside for you. It's a good thing you're not doing something, 'cause otherwise this could end our very career." Scott went back out.

Kong poked his head back in the room where he was sitting on a small stool on the floor, and looked down to the basin he was doing his laundry in. He sighed, pushed the large basin aside with one hand, and went to wash his soap covered hands. Despite being such a threateningly large individual, he curses himself for being such a pushover, especially when it came to the human's insufferable persistence. He tells himself that it's because Scott always has a plan that he usually ends up participating in so he couldn't really say no, but everyone knows that's not the case.

"Why, oh why did you think that that was a good idea? You know, instead of just paying someone to look for something, we could just have a new one made ourselves!"

"Anthony, how many times are we going to have this discussion? A million times?" said a very unhappy Madam Jouse to her husband. "You know very well what that statue means to me. What it means to my family."

"Our family."

"You know what I mean."

"Then why don't you just ask for one of those private investigators? I'm sure they're more qualified than some bounty hunter with a 'penchant for solving mysteries'."

"I already made my decision," Madam Jouse answered firmly. She couldn't tell what it was, but somehow she didn't doubt Scott for a second. To her, he just seemed like the first person she's met in a long time that really knew what he was doing. Something about him just sets him apart from anyone she's ever met, and despite having only met him once she finds herself defending him from her own husband.

Their heated discussion, however, didn't do much in the way of comfort for the two best friends who were apparently also in the living room. "Um," faintly squeaked a very uncomfortable Thomas, inching his way to get up the couch. "I think I'm gonna go." All heads turned to him, with Michael staying silent the whole time out of fear from his father's wrath.

"Actually, you should probably stay," said Scott, entering unannounced and causing everyone to look to him with only Madam Jouse not showing any hint of surprise.

"What's this?" asked a confused and distraught Anthony Hamilton.

"I asked Josiah to let him in when he came back. This is Scott Hyde," explained Madam Jouse.

"This is the bounty hunter?" Anthony asked with a look of disdain directed to the jauntily chipper human.

Scott, accompanied with a sheepish Henry, casually made his way further into the room as a sweating Thomas nervously went back to his seat on the couch.

"What is he? Some sort of hairless ape?" Anthony spat with more disdain.

"Apparently he's a human. He said he came from a very discreet group of people on the other side of the continent."

"Is Irene home?" Scott casually asked Madam Jouse, completely ignorant and unaffected by the venomous glare that Anthony Hamilton was directing his way.

"Yes, uh, she's upstairs."

"Good." Scott turned to everyone else in the room and said, "I know who did it."

Anthony cocked his head. "Oh, do you now? Let me guess, Is it the Wolfgang?" he asked, lightly bridling his scornful regard towards the human out of a genuine eagerness to know.

"Well, actually the culprit is within this house. Not outside."

"You mean it wasn't the wolfgang?" asked Michael.

Scott turns to Madam Jouse and said, "You persisted that no one within your family could have done it, but there was something that I noticed." When he saw that everyone's attention was hooked, Scott continued, "No one could have done it other than someone who knew what the statue was made of. It was as you said, only an expert could differentiate ordinary stone from its material."

Madam Jouse looked downwards, recalling her own words and realizing the human's point. "Yes, I did..."

"So if someone were to rob you, obviously they'd steal the first things that come to mind in terms of value, right? Everything else in this house was untouched. Whoever stole your statue knew what to prioritize, and left everything else as it is. They knew that the statue was made out of a special material, and therefore only ever really needed to steal just it." Letting his words hang a bit as to guarantee to get his logic through them, he decided to say, "The culprit..." Scott turned, "is you," he finishes, pointing his finger to a very nervous and confused Thomas.

Madam Jouse double taked, then turned to Scott again, "Thomas?"

"M-me?" the sheep asked. "But I- I didn't. I wasn't—"

While the nervous sheep stammered away excuses, Scott's eyes were busy scanning something else, and when he spotted what he was looking for, he smiled. "Actually..." he adds, causing everyone to look back to him, "Thomas may have just been a prop." He turned his attention to the butler, causing everyone to follow his gaze. "It's you, isn't it," he smiled.

"Pardon?" Josiah asked.

"Everyone else was nervous with antcipation, and when I pointed to Thomas all showed surprise except you."

"Me?"

"Yes, you. With your bated breath and relaxed shoulders. When I pointed to Thomas you showed relief instead of shock. When everyone else looked his way and widened their eyes, you looked down and untensed your shoulders."

"Is this true, Josiah?" asked Madam Jouse. Her eyes showed doubt, but a hint of betrayal.

"Madam, I wouldn't—"

"Tell the truth. Look me in the eye and say it."

"I did not steal your statue, Madam," Josiah firmly said, keeping his eyes on his master.

"Ah," Scott interrupted, "he used a contraction."

"A what?" asked Anthony.

"Someone who's telling the truth would use 'didn't' when defending their innocence. A liar who feels backed up will usually say 'did not' which is usually sign of dishonesty and a lack of real conviction."

"This is ridiculous," said Josiah. "How could I have stolen it? I was sent home that morning before the crime."

"A perfect excuse if you ask me. Being the butler, you could have found a hundred different ways of getting in, and you knew their schedule and when they'd be out the house."

"Wait," said Henry. "If he did it, then how could he have taken the statue out by himself within a two and a half hour time window? Are you saying that he had help?"

"Ah, that's the interesting bit," Scott said. "The statue never actually left the premises, which I know is jarring."

Everyone eyed the human as he casually marched over to the glass doors leading outside to the playground. He opened the doors and went out.

"Where is he going?" asked Anthony.

From outside, Scott stood over the sandbox and tapped it twice with his foot. He turned his torso back to them with his hands in his jacket pockets. "Tada," he announced, perfoming a weak version of the jazz hands while they were still in his pockets, causing his jacket to be raised at the same time.

"The statue is inside the sand pit?" asked Thomas.

"The statue is the sand pit." He crouched down and took a pinch of sand. "This," he rubbed it between his fingers and caused it to fall, "isn't sand."

Evreyone was at a loss for words, including Henry who was never really informed about anything concerning the human's plan. They didn't know whether to doubt or believe it, but if it were true then it was definitely crazy for it to have been under their noses the whole time.

Madam Jouse went outside, eyeing the sandbox with an unreadable expression. "My great great great grandfather's statue is in a million pieces...?" she said.

"Maybe a trillion," Scott suggested, doing a poor job of mitigating the pig's devastation. He stood up and dusted his hands for the last time.

"This doesn't seem right," said Anthony. "Our butler being able to lift a statue out of the house by himself is already a huge improbability. Him being able to turn it into dust would just be impossible."

"Not if you had the right tools," Scott answered. "The photo in your living room had something that caught my attention. Nearly in all of them, Josiah was wearing his wedding ring that his grandmother gave to him. A ring that was definitely worth a lot."

"My ring? What does it have to do with this?" asked Josiah.

"In the latest photo, I noticed that you weren't wearing it at all. Now there are usually only a select few reasons why someone would remove their ring. Usually it's a sign of an unhappy marriage, but that photo was taken just a week ago, and you seem to be already wearing it not too long after."

"So what does this suggest? That our butler had a problem with his marriage therefore he decided to destroy the statue as a senseless retaliation?" asked Anthony. "Just where are you going with this?"

"Your butler didn't have a problem with his marriage, trust me. He sold his ring so he could buy a construction tool that he couldn't otherwise afford." Inspecting the butler's micro expressions, Scott could tell that everything he was saying was landing perfectly, so he continued, "I had a little chat with a friend of mine who knew a thing or two about construction work, which as I recall was where your butler worked at before he landed this job. He told me that there's this thing called a power tool pulverizer that construction workers normally use during their day jobs to turn any debris into dust. It's a tool small enough to be carried by one person, and it's powered by magic so it wasn't something that anyone could just afford." Scott pointed to the window from above, "That room over there is where the statue was kept in, and It's conviniently just bellow the playground."

"Wait wait wait," said Anthony, "you're not seriously saying that he took the statue and threw it out the window are you? I mean we were just talking about how one person couldn't have just carried it by themselves."

"I'm saying he didn't have to. With the power tool pulverizer, he could have changed its intensity settings and easily broken the statue into three..." reading the butler's expression, he changed his words, "no, four smaller pieces, and just as easily pushed it out the window. It would then have landed on the grass and all he had to do with the time he had left before you would come home was to completely pulverize the statue and replace the sand with it." He looked to Josiah then said to him, "Think about it. Sooner or later the experts will confirm that the sand is indeed the statue, so while you and I both know that I'm obviously right, you might as well confess now."

As Josiah's composure started to crumble, he decided to say, "You don't even have any real proof. Everything you're saying are just guesses."

"You would say that, wouldn't?" Scott smiled, every reaction the butler makes falling right into his expectations. "Instead of persisting that you didn't do it like someone who's really convicted of their innocence, you would pull at straws like the usual behaviour of a culprit."

"That... makes sense," said Henry, causing everyone to look down to him. "Someone innocent would be a lot more upset, regardless of whether or not the allegation against them is plausible. I can't believe he notices these things, he thought to himself, looking to the human detective with wonder.

"Another thing that caught my attention," Scott adds, "the leveling of the pit looked pretty weird when I first saw it. Even just for playing around, the sand is pretty lowered into the ground. I'm guessing since he couldn't take the statue out with him in one go, he decided to transport it out bit by bit, or in this case, bag by bag. Everyday he would probably take a portion of your statue with him when he goes home, and while you were too busy thinking some criminal organization was responsible, he's been gradually stealing it from under your noses. Obviously, it could have also meant that the statue's volume just wasn't enough to fill the pit completely, but since we've already established that he was smart enough to plan this far ahead, it would only be sensible for him to choose that method of stealing the statue regardless."

The butler's nervous expression had long since fell and gave way to an unreadable flat look directed to the human. While everyone else remained silent and pondered over Scott's deduction with an indecision to either doubt or believe its irrefutable credibility, the butler's lips curled up into an amused smile.

"Wow," he said, causing everyone to turn to him. "Just... wow. You got all that from your first visit here?" he said with an undeniably impressed tone, unable to stop himself from showing amusement.

"So is that it? Is this you confessing?"

"I didn't say anything of the sorts," he answered, earning narrowed eyes from the Hamiltons as they didn't take lightly to his choice of evasive words, making it the more obvious that he was the culprit in their eyes.

"Oh, come on. Quit the act, will you?"

"You know very well that you don't have any practical evidence to put me behind bars. You're just a bounty hunter."

"I know, but you are going to lose your job," Scott answered with a mischievous smile.

Without warning, Josiah sprinted away into the living room and towards the front doors. Just before anyone could chase after him, Scott held up a hand and said, "Wait."

He gestures for them to follow into the living room and out to the front yard. As they do as he asks, they are all met with a seven foot dog holding Josiah aloft with a single hand, the pig futilely squirming around the giant dog's deathly grasp.

"I caught your piggy," said Kong to the smiling human, lightly raising the butler up for emphasis.

Scott approached them and regarded the butler with a comical shake of his head. "Yeah, running away would be a nono," he said. "You still need to return the rest of the statue that you've already stolen."

"You little..." said a livid Anthony, clenching his fists and glaring at their soon-to-be-not butler. "We took you in as our own, and this is how you repay us?"

Still dangling from the hulk of a dog, Josiah scoffed. Already having given up from resisting against the impossible grip of pure strength that held him helplessly hostage, he retorted, "Took me in as your own? What a joke. While I worked my tail off every single day as your only butler, I had to watch you all live lavishly with silver spoons shoved up your rears." Scott stifled a chuckle from the choice of words. "And 'independent'? Is that what you think you are? Don't make me laugh," he added, directing his gaze to Madam Jouse this time.

Madam Jouse couldn't believe what she was hearing. The idea that the butler she knew had been keeping such a secret grudge this whole time made her feel sick to her stomach. All those times that she pitied him, and he'd been hiding his true colors.

"I don't understand... why would you do this?" she managed to say.

"It's pretty simple really." Scott said. "He feels a little underpaid for all the things he's done for you, and—you know what? the point is, he's an evil, greedy bastard; the rest is just details. When I asked him how he felt about working for you, he simply told me that he didn't find the workload too much. He avoided my other questions, and at that moment I knew he always had a distaste for working for you."

After Josiah had been escorted out of the premises, the Hamiltons have made the decision to get a new helper.

Madam Jouse approached the three bounty hunters. She turned to Scott, and said, "Well, it looks like you didn't disappoint, Mr. Hyde. Not only did you found out who stole the statue, you also did it in less than a day."

"To be honest, I kind of bet everything on being able to find the sand that Josiah threw away in the nearest dumpster. I was really lucky that he didn't throw it away someplace harder to find, otherwise everything would have been a whole lot more conplicated. Anyways, all we need is to get paid, and we'll be out of your hair."

"Eigheen... nineteen... twenty thousand. That's it," Abigail counted.

"You done?" asked Sierra.

"Yep. All twenty thousand in twenty individual one thousand-worth bits. You know, I'm glad he had these kinds, 'cause I'm getting tired of counting large bags of tens and five hundreds." She hefted the conviniently smaller pouch of bits with a smile.

"Put that with the rest of the mortgage payment."

"Sure thing."

The door came open and in came the rest of the team. Scott smiled and greeted the two, "Hey guys. So you also went out on a job, huh? That's good."

"Yeah, we did," answered Sierra. "So you took Kong with you."

"I needed him for something vital."

The dog in question made his way into the house without a word, and went over to his unfinished laundry, wearing an unamused expression.

"Well, what happened? What was the job?"

Before Scott could answer, Abigail interjected, "You solved it already, didn't you Scotty?"

"Well, yeah," Scott answered.

"Haha, I knew it," Abigail replied, giving Sierra a mischievous grin, which she regarded with a roll of her eyes.

Scott continued, "Apparently, Madam Jouse had a statue of a distant relative that was made out of a very priceless material. Two days ago it went missing, and I found out that the butler was responsible."

"He stole it?" asked Abigail, still holding the bag in her hands.

"Actually, he powderized it and hid it somewhere in the house. Anyways, we weren't able to put him in jail, but he did lose his job."

"So.... where's the bits?" Sierra asked as she sees that none of them carried anything with them. Abigail just notices it as well and looks around the human, trying to find the nonexistent bag.

"We didn't get paid..." came Scott's reply.

An uncomfortable silence stretched for a second before Sierra asked, "I'm sorry, could you say that again?"

"Madam Jouse didn't pay us a single penny. Or I guess 'bit', as you call it here."

"And why is that?" Sierra dragged the question with a sarcastic tone.

"I mentioned that the statue was turned to powder, right?" Scott took Sierra's unamused stare as a yes and continued, "Her condition was to 'find out who did it' and 'bring back the statue in one piece', and seeing as—"

"It's in a million pieces, she didn't pay you," Sierra groaned into her paw, causing the words to be slightly muffled.

"Maybe a trillion," Scott took the glare from Sierra as a sign that he should probably not joke at the moment.

When Sierra calmed herself with a sigh, she said, "You know you're really lucky that I somehow saw this coming, and planned ahead."

Explaining for her, Abigail said, "We got twenty thousand bits from our job and it's luckily enough for the mortgage."

Feeling slightly relieved, Scott answered, "Phew, that's good." He looked at the rabbit with a solemn expression and apologized, "Look, Abby. I'm really sorry to let you down this time. I know how much you wanted to pay off your grandfather's debt, and I was really hoping for a win."

Abigail returned his solemn expression with one of her own and said to the human, "No, Scott, it's okay. You've already done so much for us, and we're in no position to be apologized to." She gave him a sweet smile before returning to her previous task not too long ago, "Anyways, I gotta take this to the vault." She disappeared up into the second floor.

Scott sighed, and asked Sierra, "So, uh, what did you do today?"

With what Abigail had said, Sierra felt a little sorry for how she treated the human's lack of success and decided to give her answer a less colder tone, "We, uh, hustled a mystic croak."

"Not sure what that is."

"A frog, Hyde. Our job was to subdue our employer's mentally ill brother and tie him in chains. We were only supposed to get paid five thousand bits, but when we found out late that we also had to look for him, we got him to raise the reward. I guess it wasn't really much of a hustle since he did try to scam us by feigning ignorance."

"Welp. All's well that ends well." Scott went up to his room, leaving Sierra with Henry.

"So," she said, "Did you learn something?"

Henry answered, "He has a very unique method of problem solving."

"That so?"

"Yeah. Um, he's very perceptive and good at reading through people's lies."

"Yeah, you have the right points there. Just don't let him get too excited over himself, ok? Amongst other things, he's pretty reckless too."