Once Alphonse joined in, the makeshift team of three was ready to begin their search. Though amused at first by the idea that an ideal team-building exercise had fallen right into his lap, Khalid quickly realized that this veritable snipe hunt wouldn't be all fun and games. For one, while it seemed like the gremlin hunt and the Mischief Accord responsible for it were somewhat well-known and well-established within the Umbra Rose Condos, the same couldn't be said for Khalid himself. Owing to his relatively recent arrival within the complex, he'd never participated in such an event before. Whether this occurrence represented officially sanctioned collaborative activity with the gremlins or merely some sort of trumped-up ritual, the occultist was a complete novice, without any idea of where or how to begin.

Khalid knew just enough about gremlins themselves to know that this would be extremely difficult. After all, the core conceit of the little monsters was causing mayhem with such discretion that a victim would never in a million years imagine that an actual troublemaker was behind it, as opposed to technological incompetence and sheer bad luck. Still, Khalid supposed that in this case, the destination wasn't the point so much as the journey. Winning this little game would be a nice feather in his hat, and a solid start to his professional relationship with his client, but as long as they built some sort of rapport it would still be worthwhile. On a semi-related note, he couldn't help but wonder what other secrets Umbra Rose might be hiding. The name of the complex was so tantalizingly evocative, after all--if a beautiful flower could bloom in the shade, those shadows could conceal just about anything.

The three set off together, Khalid puzzling over a satisfactory answer to give to Alphonse. It would take time to concoct a solid plan of attack, but since this was a competition, time was a luxury the three didn't have. Gremlins could be lurking anywhere and everywhere, and the places most likely to hide them would probably be off-limits to residents, making them difficult to access. There was no end to the amount of chaos the gremlins could cause if they went for the condos' electrical or plumbing utilities. Conversely, Khalid didn't know why a gremlin would hide in a vent, as opposed to the air conditioning units themselves, but he didn't want to rain on Alphonse's parade. As the taciturn therapist-to-be continued to workshop a plan in his head, Iris detected something, but after a moment's investigation it turned out to be a false start.

"Two days?" Khalid repeated, his brow furrowed. Considering the gremlins running rampant in Umbra Rose right this instant, could she really find nothing more recent? Or perhaps, as with dogs, she was simply more attuned to certain kinds of smells. With that in mind, the trace she found could even be a red herring, left purposefully to mess with condo residents like her. "If any perishable is left unrefrigerated for two hours, it should be considered as spoiled," he replied to her absent-mindedly, his lips pursed in a frown. "Hmm. Rather than chase our own tails, we should compose a strategy. Gremlins are extremely quick, stealthy, and perceptive. I'm reasonably sure that I can snatch one if I see one, but a good gremlin never allows itself to be seen. They lurk in our peripheral vision, so subtle that we can never be sure they're truly there at all." He pinched the end of his mustache as he thought. "We can, however, use their impulsive natures against them. If we can make them underestimate us, we can lure them into a trap." A serpentine smile spread across his features. "Let's go somewhere where they're sure to be. The electric room. Of course, we'll need help from a janitor or technician. Or...someone small enough to squeeze beneath the door and unlock it from the inside. Once we're in, we must make a scene of calling them out and bumbling around uselessly. Demonstrating that we're nothing to be afraid of will entice them to make sport of us, like children poking a tiger through the bars of the cage. Their confidence will be their undoing." He looked around at the others, curious to see if they'd agree.