Chapter 1:
Showing Him the Ropes
The sun's rays slipped through the cracks in the roof of the house boat that housed one man, 5 dogs, and one cat. The bright light slowly graced over each occupant; the large, aging Great Dane, Einstein, asleep in his barrel, the beautiful brown Selki, Rita, in her open chest, and the small Chihuahua, Tito, and the Bulldog, Francis, asleep on the man's lap as he snored quietly. Then there was the intertube filled with ragged pillows and a blanket. This was where the terrier mutt, Dodger, slept. Oliver, the little orange kitten the mutt had befriended, slept there too curled up against Dodger's side.
After the gang had rescued Oliver from the 'torture' of house life, the kitten had realized how much he actually loved the group of dogs. And it was more than the girl, Jenny. So he decided to stay. Yes, the houseboat was run down and most would call it a dump but, in the wise words of Dodger, when you got your pals, you got all you need. Fagin ended up paying off Sykes with Oliver's collar; the tag being pure gold satisfied the gangster and they were finally out from under the monster of a man when he 'disappeared' via the Maranzano/Bonanno mafia family. His vicious Dobermans, Rosco and Desoto, seemingly still living in the man's ship building.
"Dodger? Hey, Dodge, wake up." The terrier cracked one eye to see Oliver pushing his paws against his face. "What is it, kid?" he yawned. "Come on, you said you'd show me the ropes today." The kitten jumped around on the pillows, clearly excited. Dodger looked around the houseboat. "No one else is up, kid. It's too early." he replied, stretching out. "But you said we would start at dawn." Oliver pouted. Dodger sighed. "Yeah, yeah, okay." He smiled and rolled his shoulders cracking the bones. Oliver cringed; he hated that sound. Chuckling at the kitten's reaction, the terrier mutt shook himself fully awake and walked across the wooden floorboards to the stairs. "You comin', kid?"
With a smile, Oliver ran after him only to have Dodger takeoff up the stairs and across the deck. "Hey, no fair!" "What'd I tell ya, kid? Fairs are for tourists." The two ran up the trail of planks and onto the bay's main dock. Once on the dock, Dodger turned, expecting to see the orange kitten behind him, but saw nothing. Oliver was fast, he shouldn't have been more than a couple steps behind him. He waited for a moment before walking back to the edge and looking down. Nothing. Worry flooded the mutt's face; where was Oliver? Suddenly, something jumped onto Dodger's back causing him to panic, jumping back onto the dock. Then he heard it; the kid's laugh.
Dodger stopped in his tracks and, with a smirk, rolled his eyes. "What the heck are ya doin', kid?" He turned his head to see the kitten giggling as he hung onto Dodger's signature red bandana. "Just a little," Oliver cleared his throat and leaned his face closer with a smirk. "Street savoire faire." Dodger rolled his eyes; he should never have taught the kid that. "Alright, you scared me, now get off." The kitten did as he was told and started bouncing around in excitement. "So, where do we go first? Park? Bowery? Maiden Lane?" "You're lucky I don't call the whole thing off for your little stunt." Dodger warned with a smile as the two made their way towards the buildings and, beyond them, the bright New York City.
"Hey, it was just some fun." Oliver defended. The mutt reached over and ruffled the kitten's fur playfully. "First is some food," Oliver heard his stomach growl. "Are we gonna get some of Ol' Louie's hot dogs?" He asked, his eyes on the already bustling city. Dodger chuckled. "Good suggestion, kid. Think you're ready to be chased again?" "If it means getting some of those franks, sure."
The two didn't have to look long before the smell of sausages whiffed past their noses making their mouths water. Dodger pushed Oliver back gently with a paw as the, rather gross-looking, man pushed his cart by, humming his Italian opera. "Okay, so it's Rita's turn to grab food for tonight. AKA, one sausage each." Dodge looked at Oliver and saw the, obviously, over-acting sad expression complete with the big, pleading eyes. Rolling his eyes shut, the mutt sighed. "Fine, two each." He couldn't say no to the kid. He doubted anyone could if he pulled that face on them.
Oliver perked up and smiled. "Okay, Dodge, same as last time?" The dog winked. "You got it, kid." Once Louie stopped his cart, Dodger started barking and chased his little partner up to the man. Taking care of distracting Louie, Oliver ran across the man's face and shoulders, screeching until jumping off and following Dodger across the tops of cars. The mutt kept a close eye on the kitten till they reached the other side of the road. "Nice job, kitty." He complimented, the two taking a rest on an abandoned couch in an alleyway. Still panting from the adrenalin rush, Oliver smiled at the compliment. "Why am I the one who has to distract him? He smells awful." He scrunched his nose, enunciating the displeasure.
Dodger chuckled, already tearing into one of the franks. "Ya think I don't know? Before you came along, I had to do both jobs." "Exactly! You know how bad it is! So why make me deal with it?" Oliver argued, starting in on his food. "Heh, fine, how does takin' turns sound?" Dodger held out a paw for a five. Knowing the mutt's tricks, Oliver rolled his eyes at himself but went to five him. "Deal." Surprisingly, the kitten's paw landed on the dog's bigger one. Dodge smirked at the kid's surprise. "What? Ya gotta honor a deal."
Oliver smiled and the two finished off their franks before taking to the streets again. Going down to the Park, they came across a gathering of people watching a street performer. Dodger turned to the orange kitten and smiled. "Ready to be a 'cat burglar'?" he joked with a smirk. " "Ha-ha." He rolled his eyes. Oliver hurried to a woman near the outskirts of the group who had placed her purse next to her. Taking a peek inside, the kitten noticed an upscale rosary, and even a pocket watch.
Smiling, he backed away, taking care not to be seen and nodded to Dodger. The mutt sauntered up to the woman and started to rub against her, drawing her attention to pet him. The woman smiled and crouched down next to the dog, petting him. "Aw, you're cute, boy." He sat on his hind legs and licked her cheek making her laugh. Taking the opportunity, the swift kitten swiped both the rosary and the pocket watch and hurried into a nearby tree. Sitting on a branch, Oliver held his head up, making sure Dodger saw he had gotten some items. Seeing the kid in the tree, the terrier gave the woman one last lick then took off down the street, Oliver leaping from tree to tree following until they were about a block away. "Come on, kid, let's see whatcha got."
Oliver worked his way down the tree and held up his catch proudly. "Wow, nice job." Dodger was rather impressed; an expensive rosary and a good looking pocket watch. Setting the items in the grass Oliver's eyes lit up. "Really?" "Absitively posolutely. Looks like you were born for this, kitty." Dodger nudged the orange cat playfully. "Come on, let's get this back to Fagin." He grabbed the watch, waiting till Oliver grabbed the rosary before they ran off back to the docks.
The mutt and kitten strolled down the dock and down the pathway to the houseboat. But two pairs of yellow eyes watched them. "Why not take them now?" "Shut up; we need to keep their routine. Make sure the others ain't with 'em. Then we strike. Hehe."