Great Mouse Reporter - Chapter 18

Fievel led his friends down the streets of New York, winding around human footsteps on the sidewalk and looking for any sign at all of what may have become of Tanya as they headed toward Tammany Hall.

"Ah don't know how we'll find yer sister in all this." Olivia remarked, keeping close to the wall of a building as they walked with her tomahawk dangling from a belt the Lenape had given her to wear.

"I don't know either," he said, "I know how hard it can be trying to find family members in the big city. But maybe we'll see her in the crowd somewhere, you never know."

Vartan kept a vigilant lookout, walking with the spear in his hands, "I will know when we get close."

It was a long walk for the mice, going down Mott Street. It was a notorious cat territory in the early to mid 1880's, and had become one again. Luckily there were enough people around that the mice could hide among them, as long as they avoided their feet.

"I wonder what it must be like bein' so big," Olivia wondered as she looked up at the towering people.

"I guess the world isn't so big to them," Fievel remarked, "I bet it's cold without any fur though. And how do they live without tails?"

"I couldn't keep balance without mine," said Olivia.

"Wait!" Vartan stopped them.

They stopped in front of a sign on the wall, so low as to be overlooked by the humans. It read "The Legend of Mouse Hollow", showing a mouse with a jack-o-lantern for a head riding on the back of a fearsome cat. The show was said to open in two more days.

"That's the show Tanya was gonna be in," said Fievel, "Good job Vartan! We'll go to the premier of her show and find her. We'll tell her what's been going on too."

"And you'll tell her a little somethin' too, wontcha?" Olivia asked Vartan, tugging on his shirt.

Vartan gulped, "I…I vill."

Fievel rolled his eyes, "Let's keep going."

They followed the sidewalk down to the tall building of Tammany Hall, where New York's Democrat Party was headquartered, subsisting on the votes of Irish and Italian immigrants to maintain it's stranglehold on New York politics as well as aligning itself with the city's corrupt underworld of gangsters and sweatshop owners. The mouse equivalent was run much the same way. Tucked away in an alley next to the building, a rally was underway for Tammany's mayoral candidate, Roberto Mozzarella.

"And what did they tell you when you came here on the boats?" he begged the question to his audience, who held signs of "Cats Unfair" and "Cheese and Equality for All", popular slogans of the day, "That there were no cats in America! That the streets were paved with cheese! And what did find out when you got here? That cats lurked around every corner, and that the streets were not paved with cheese but the manure of horses!"

The crowd booed, not at Mozzarella but at how they'd been lied to.

"Well four years ago, we finally tried to do something. Gussie Mausheimer and Honest John put together a plan that resulted in the deportation of Warren T's Mott Street Mauler Gang. But did our problems go away?"

The crowd let out a resounding "No!"

"No! They did not! The city is still filthy, most of us still work our hands to the bone for little to no wages, and cats still wait to prey on us and our loved ones. And now the cats we originally deported to Hong Kong those four years ago have come back. Some say we would be safer if we negotiated another protection racket with them. To that, I say no! And no again! We saw what happened the last time!"

"I already hate 'dis guy," said Warren, flicking his cigar butt, watching from behind a dumpster across the street, accompanied by Waul and dozens of cats, "Of course, Honest John's already inkin' the contract for the protection racket now, unbeknownst to our soon-to-be dead candidate."

"I do wish he'd hurry up about it too," said Waul, "I'm beginning to tire of that loathsome sewer."

"Revenge will come soon enough…" Warren said, "I'll make this city pay for sendin' me ta Hong Kong…"

"Was it that bad?" Waul asked.

"You heard what da humans do to cats in Hong Kong haven't ya? Ya notice a few of my old gang menbers ain't here don't ya?"

"No need to elaborate," Waul said, "Let's just await the signal."

Atop the building, Hakan stood, crossbow aimed at the stage where Mozzarella was speaking to the crowd. He was flanked by Fidget and Cgula, there to make sure he went through with the job.

"I think pretty much any time during the speech is a good time to let one go," said Chula, "Just so you know…"

Hakan said nothing, keeping the crossbow aimed at the politician, saying nothing. It was as if he were in a trance. In truth, he was silently praying to the spirits for forgiveness. He knew he would have to answer for this crime someday. To take a life even for the sake of an entire tribe was not looked upon fondly. But, maybe they would not have to know everything. They wouldn't have to know what he'd done. He could live the rest of his life among the Lenape, or if they still banished him, at least know that they would be safe, until he had to answer to the All-Maker for his crimes.

Olivia, Fievel and Vartan saw the crowd from afar, and could hear a speech going on.

"What's goin' on?" Olivia asked.

"We're close to Tammany Hall, I bet there's some election thing going on," said Fievel, "They're usually pretty boring."

"Unless they're happenin' in Green River," Olivia mused, remembering Ratigan's election rally.

"Do not remind me," said Vartan, lifting his sleeve and looking at the scar on his arm where the bullet grazed him.

As the three of them passed by, an arrow sped through the air, finding it's mark in Mr. Mozzarella, who collapsed on the stage. There was a moment of silence, until the crowd gasped. Honest John ran to Mozzarella's aid, though secretly expecting this to happen. Ratbone then climbed on stage, putting on his best act yet.

"Is there a doctor in the audience?!" he demanded, "Mozzarella's been shot with an arrow!"

The crowd erupted in a panic. It must have been those Indians! Finally a mouse who happened to be a doctor scrambled onto the stage, checking Mozzarella's pulse. Fievel, Olivia and Vartan watched the scene in shock, until suddenly, a large adult mouse grabbed Fievel by the arm.

"This boy has a bow and arrow! Here's the culprit!" he shouted, turning heads.

"Wait! It wasn't me!" Fievel yelled.

"Boy?" Ratbone looked across the crowd at the mouse holding Fievel up for all to see as he struggled. Why, it was the Mousekewitz boy! What was he doing here? With a bow and arrow too! Hakan was supposed to be the prime suspect! This was not according to the plan.

"Put him down!" Olivia said, taking out her tomahawk, "He's innocent!"

Vartan took his spear out and pointed it at his chest. The mouse put Fievel down and put his hands up.

"Someone do something!" people in the crowd shouted.

Fievel drew an arrow, and the three of them backed up together, brandishing their weapons. Ratbone looked across the street, and gave the signal, using his thumb to make a slash across his throat. Within seconds, a dozen cats darted across the street at the crowd. Fievel, Olivia and Vartan didn't know what was happening until the menacing crowd in front of them panicked and scattered. They then turned around, seeing the cats close in, among them Warren and Waul.

"Katooner!" Vartan exclaimed, plural for 'cats' in his language.

Fievel didn't have much time to let the fact that two of his old enemies were now working together. The three of them darted away quickly with the rest of the crowd, eventually diving into a storm drain for safety.

Hakan was watching this all from above, with an arrow loaded into his crossbow in case he needed to shoot another. It turned out he didn't need it. He'd seen the little boy who happened to have the bow and arrow take the blame, before the cat attack begin. This was wrong…all wrong. He turned around, picking up the suitcase of money. He was disgusted with himself.

"I am leaving," he said.

"Not so fast, hehehe…." Chula said, "See, the boss may not have been fully honest with you…"

Hakan stopped, but didn't turn around, listening.

"That's right…now the original plan was for you to be the fall guy, but now that the kid's stolen your role, you're expendable."

Chula spat web at him, but he rolled out of the way, and aimed his crossbow at Chula. Fidget put both his wings up, and Chula froze.

"Sh-shoot him, not me!" said Fidget, "I don't want no part in this!"

"You double-crosser!" Chula exclaimed, "Okay okay, let's try to be reasonable here…"

A voice came from behind Hakan, "Stop, in the name of the law!"

Hakan didn't dare turn around, knowing Chula would envelop him in spider web the moment he did. Chief Bellingham and some officers climbed up an air vent on the roof, having been waiting there all along.

"You're under arrest, scum. And we're going to learn all about where those Indians are hiding from you…"

Chula gave a mad grin, "Just in time, copper. Cuff him. If he turns around I'll let him have it."

Hakan's mind raced. As the officers closed in, he quickly made up his escape plan. He turned around, and shot an arrow, hitting an officer in the knee. Chula spat spider web, but again Hakan rolled out of the way, and the web instead hit Chief Bellingham. Hakan ran for the edge of the building, finding a gutter. He darted toward the water spout and jumped in, sliding down the building inside it. By the time anyone knew what had hit them, Hakan was at the bottom of the building. He jumped down the nearest storm drain. Across the street from the one Fievel, Olivia and Vartan had escaped into.

The cats had eaten several mice in the crowd before Ratbone climbed up onto the shoulder of Warren and cocked a pistol against his head, all according to plan.

"Stop!" Ratbone yelled.

The cats all stopped chasing the mice, and both the mice and cats turned their attention to Warren.

"Lay one more paw on these innocent mice, and your boss gets it!" Ratbone threatened, "I'm warning you!"

"H-he's serious," Warren warned, "Dat gun may be small but it'd kill me all da same."

"We surrender," said Cat R. Waul, who'd been leaning against a wall using a toothpick on his teeth after eating three mice.

"On behalf of the mice who've died today I should shoot your boss in the head," said Ratbone, addressing the crowd, "But, because that would only result in more bloodshed immediately after, I propose a truce. We'll negotiate a deal. You are going to stop eating mice, in exchange for whatever else it is you want. Or we will be obliged to defend ourselves, starting with killing your boss."

"Understood my good fellow," said Waul, "Come, fellow cats, let us head back to our headquarters and talk to this mouse and see if we can work out a deal. If we cannot eat mice, perhaps some tasty fish will do, hm?"

The cats all muttered to themselves, regretting not being able to eat just one more mouse, but they knew to follow the script. The cats headed back toward the ally, along with Warren who still had the mouse-sized pistol pressed against his head.

"Drat, that didn't quite go the way we wanted it…" Ratbone whispered.

"We'll improvise," said Warren, "Hell, I've wanted to get back at dat Mousekewitz kid since I was sent to Hong Kong, this gives me the perfect excuse."

"Yes, a minor diversion from our plan, but maybe we can make it work…" Ratbone said, "I just wonder how to handle Tanya in this case."

The cats left the scene of the rally a bloody mess. The mice who survived, looking for loved ones in the chaos could only wonder who this heroic Quinn Ratbone was. Maybe he'd make a good replacement for the mayoral candidate they'd just lost.