When we left Lilac, she had just entered her tent to find it ransacked. And a priceless species of flower had been stolen!
After Lilac forced her anger down, she looked carefully around the tent. "Where are you, coward!"
Of course nobody replied. In her anger she began to clean. The intruder had made a mess while searching for anything useful that may have been hidden.
"At least I kept my notes on me..." Muttered Lilac. She felt along the butt of her pistol, imagination running wild about catching the dirty thief who dared to enter her domain!
As she picked up the cot's mattress, a note fell to the floor. "Leave the map and your notes in the tent. Walk to the stream at 9 A.M. and stay there until ten. I don't want to hurt you."
The writing was almost illegible, most likely written in this way to disguise the true author. "I'll get you anyway, you filthy rat." she whispered, with a malicious gleam in her eye.
Lilac considered for a moment how she could use the situation to catch her thief. First she burned the map, as a precaution. Lilac didn't need the map anyway. After two trips, she could find the location easily.
Then she got out another well worn map, and put a false trail on it. At first it followed the correct path, but partway through, she knew of a well used game path. She simply marked it instead of the correct route, which was through untouched jungle. This she would keep on her.
The determined botanist spent part of the night copying down her notes, planning to leave the originals in the tent. If by some miracle the thief escaped, she wanted to ensure that the flowers would be cared for.
Lilac then set alarms and traps, both inside the tent and around it. After over ten years traveling the world, mostly in unexplored wilderness, she knew how to survive!
After a very short and light sleep, Lilac awoke early, and made a show of taking down the traps and alarms. At the same time she added new and well hidden ones.
She wrote a note before leaving for the stream. "I have left instructions for how to care for the Goddess. The map has been destroyed, you already have enough to make you rich for a lifetime. Take good care of the flowers."
Then Lilac left the tent, carrying her water can, and went to the stream. After about a half hour she heard a man shouting. "Good. It's time the rat pays." she whispered, and smiled to herself.
She went directly to the tent, and saw tracks. But everything was quiet. " I wonder if there might be more than one thief..." Lilac mused.
Pistol ready, she carefully made her way towards the racket, staying hidden in the brush. A trap further from camp, that she had gone back out to make in the dead of night, had been sprung.
A man was hanging upside down by an ankle, shouting and cursing as he struggled to get free. "Bruce! What on Earth are you doing here?!?!" And where is the chopper?"
To be continued!
Header image thanks to the very creative and talented @penderis