Operation

"Karen is coming in hot," Bertie texted. "Level?" Magnus replied. "NUCLEAR," came the response. Magnus laughed and pulled up the feed from the front and side cameras; there she was, moving in like a storm, hands clenched. She saw the pink flamingo that Magnus had used for bait - tucked into the landscaping as if that effectively flew his freak flag. She tore it out of the ground and clutched it as she approached the front door. "Phase One complete," Magnus whispered. He wouldn't answer the door when she knocked; he accessed the speaker and said hello, giving his apologies for not inviting her in, but sharing that it was "Clothing Optional Monday" and the party was private. It was rage bait and she didn't disappoint, spewing something almost violently unintelligible in response. Magnus laughed and went dark, causing her to back way up into the middle of his front lawn to peer into his windows. "Phase Two complete," Magnus whispered and pushed the button to activate the sprinklers. She was gone in just a handful of seconds, and Magnus ran the utility to pull and capture the video for the entire exchange. "Phase Three complete," he texted Bertie. "Seamless." "OMW!" came the response. "Bringing beer in a bag; will stop and collect items." The beer was ice cold; the video was sharp; they passed an afternoon talking about the implications of what they'd done. It might get complicated, but you had to consider the operation a success. "Wicked witches still melt," Magnus concluded in his notes, and it felt more like the beginning of something rather than the end.