Munkustrap

Landing beside him suddenly, Tugger hopped onto the fence where Munkustrap was watching the rats. "Bro, something's up."

"Yes, I've noticed." He snapped back, not in the mood for the obvious.

"I mean—those rats, they're taking orders. I saw another cat out on the streets, just before he ran off." Munkustrap had a gut feeling of whom he might be talking about, but he prayed that they were both mistaken. The look in his eyes told his brother he was already panicking. "Hey, just stay calm. No use getting the entire tribe in a panic."

The tribe! "I know. Listen, get Alonzo and Plato and tell them to start rounding everyone up, get them safe." In serious matters like these, Tugger could efficiently take orders. In fact, he had concerns of his own.

"What about Pop?"

"I'll take care of Dad. Go, hurry!" Tugger leapt down and dashed into the darkness. Munkustrap's heart was already racing, but his brother was (surprisingly) right. No use getting worked up. This is what leaders did. Perhaps it was fate that tonight they have an emergency; almost like a sort of trial. But Munkustrap didn't care about that kind of symbolism – reality was his first concern. He made haste to find Old Deuteronomy, who was just noticing that his sons had been gone quite a while.

"Is everything all right?" He asked, concerned.

"I need you to get somewhere safe." He instructed, but Old Deuteronomy looked skeptical.

"What's going on?"

"We're not sure, but Tugger and the boys are getting everyone out of the open and I need to get you out of sight too." He reached his paw out to him, and Old Deuteronomy was never one to distrust his son. As they raced across the region, Munkustrap noticed Tugger baiting the kittens to hide them in a cylinder; Etcetera was being dragged on his leg and he had to physically shake her off.

"C'mon, Etcetera... Not... Now!" The ladykiller wiggled her off and she grouped inside with her friends. Munkustrap knew his brother had it under control; not even his hubris could overshadow what was actually important. Alonzo had everyone else gather in various spots for them to lay low; inside the broken oven, the boot of the car, even a mattress... but what about Old Deuteronomy?

Munkustrap tried to huddle his gigantesque father inside the old freezer, but he gently pushed his son's paw away. "Son, let me help you."

"You could be in danger!"

"What kind of head would I be to let his cats take the chance when it's his job to serve and protect?" He calmly replied. "Let me stand guard." Munkustrap didn't have it in him to deny his father; he didn't have the heart to remind him how old he actually was. Tugger, Alonzo, and Plato joined them. Unlike his big brother, Rum Tum Tugger had no censor.

"Dad, what are you doing?"

"He wants to help." Munkustrap gave him a look to signal him that he oughta shut his trap. Like Hell he would! But Old Deuteronomy halted the argument before it could even start. He walked in front of the younger toms and into the open. All in a guarded stance, they waited for a sign that the intruder was here. They had their eyes peeled; senses alert. Munkustrap got a fraction in front of his father, not bothering to check for his approval. If anyone was going to try anything, they had to tear through him first!

The cats glowered and guttered in low snarls, letting the invader know that they were ready for a fight.

Of all five of them, it was Old Deuteronomy who picked up the scent first. It was because he knew it far better than any Jellicle presently living. An astounded expression unraveled itself on his face and he left the group without warning.

"Dad?" He did not answer, but instead closed in on the south gate. Munkustrap took a cautious step forward, Tugger peered over him. It was deafeningly quiet.

And then, RATS! From every direction jumped on Old Deuteronomy, enclosing him in a net. Both brothers made no haste in hurrying over, but as quickly as they'd appeared, they carried him off, moving at an unnatural pace. Munkustrap called for his father, but he was too far to answer back. Both Munkustrap and Tugger climbed the fence and gave chase. Plato and Alonzo could only watch from behind the perimeter; someone had to stay and watch the others!

The brothers could hardly keep up, which was bizarre. They were experts at exterminating those vermin! They reached the fence that barricaded them from the motorway; cars coming and going. Tugger saw this and held Munkustrap back.

"Bro, no!"

"They've got Dad!"

"You see all that roadkill?" He pointed to the rats that were squished while they were crossing; supposedly the more expendable henchman of whomever the mastermind was. "There's gotta be a different way!" But Munkustrap couldn't let this happen. Not their father, their guider, their teacher. Munkustrap squeezed under and went sliding down the mud before Tugger could react in time. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" It was the most alarmed Munkustrap had ever heard his brother—after all, he'd just pulled something one would believe only Tugger was capable of!

But they'd stolen something precious from Munkustrap.

His father was still in sight, but only visible through the flashes of headlamps. His ears were popping, roaring engines and screeching tires on all sides, but his target straight ahead. So quick were the vehicles driving by that Munkustrap was pushed slightly every time he skid under one. Just centimeters behind him, in front of him, right over him. He was almost to the divider when one raced overhead and rolled him onto the traffic line.

He would've been steamrolled alive if Rum Tum Tugger hadn't yanked him backward. It passed right over them, knocking them both to the pavement. They jumped over the metal railing and only had brief respite since they had to keep up with their enemy. They hopped over and Tugger pushed Munkustrap forward to help them move faster, but a car speeding past them forced them downward. Munkustrap immediately jumped up and made a narrow dash, but Tugger once again had to pull him back before he ended up staining someone's bonnet. The brothers pushed and pulled each other to keep from being crushed, only able to see what the headlamps illuminated. The asphalt, the road lines, each other's faces, their father becoming smaller and smaller as he vanished into the brush on the other side.

It was Tugger who gave Munkustrap a good shove to the edge before a car knocked the former back once again. The silver cat leapt over the metal bars and onto the grass and through the bushes and then... No one was in sight.

The shrubbery behind him rustled; it was Rum Tum Tugger pouncing through. He took Munkustrap's shoulder and they knelt to the ground. Old Deuteronomy was gone. Neither brother had any words; an expected result of having just watched their father be hauled off into the early morning.

It was a silent journey back to the junkyard, where all of the cats were shocked by the disheveled appearance of the most well-groomed felines of the tribe. Windblown, scraped, and fur dusty. While Tugger wore a blank expression, Munkustrap appeared distraught. Alonzo hurried to them, "What happened? Did you see who took him?"

Hardly able to get a breath in, Munkustrap rasped, "No... I couldn't catch him." He needed to sit. Alonzo helped him onto a truck tire.

"They cut across the motorway. Bloody cars almost killed us." Tugger proceeded to fix his mane and clean his coat.

Coricopat approached. "We think we figured out whose scent it was. But I'm afraid if we say it aloud, everyone will panic."

"Everyone's already panicking!" Munkustrap exclaimed. He was still swallowing his own urge to fall apart over the situation. But he mustn't. He had to be reasonable.

"You're not wrong about that." Confessed Plato. "But the kittens are terrified; they've been shaking nonstop since they saw you both run off.

"They're little. Kittens get scared, but they're easy to calm down." Alonzo said. "Just try not to mention who was here tonight."

"Oh for God's sake, Macavity! There. Rip it off like a band-aid." Declared Tugger. All three cats looked angrily at him. "He already made his mark; no use in dancing around it." The riled up Maine Coon took a seat on top of an oven and went back to preening his fur.

"We're not letting him get away with this." Munkustrap stood and started back towards the perimeter. Tugger looked up and watched just as quizzically as the others.

Alonzo protested, "Where are you going?"

"After Macavity. Where else?"

"By yourself?"

"Not a chance." Tugger leapt down. "I'm going with him." Even Munkustrap was surprised by his decision. "Say what you want, but he's my father too." He smirked to try and dampen the tension. "Hopefully the ladies won't miss me too much."

Munkustrap looked his kittenhood friend in the eyes. "Alonzo, you're in charge until we get back." Munkustrap didn't even need to deliberate who would be in charge. It would always have been passed to Alonzo no matter the situation; they both knew this. Alonzo wanted to ask "what if?" But then that would really set everybody off. He knew Munkustrap was resolute, and Tugger was a hardy cat that could take just about anything. They'd be fine.

He silently repeated this mantra as he watched the two march off into the unknown, becoming smaller and smaller until he could no longer see them. They'll be fine. They'll be fine.

"Hey, Tugger?" Munkustrap asked suddenly. They'd been quiet since they left the junkyard fifteen minutes ago. It was unsettling that neither had a word of concern or even comfort about what had just happened.

"What?"

"About how I ran out onto the road... We could've both been killed because of how reckless I was. I'm sorry." Tugger looked at him as if he had two heads. "What?"

"You say that like you forced me out in front of those cars."

"If I'd listened and—"

"Bro. Stop." Tugger wasn't exactly good at sincerity. In fact, he was feeling quite uncomfortable from the unneeded apology. "You're smart to not want to listen to me." He tried to make a joke out of it, but for once, his brother was acknowledging that he'd been right. Wouldn't he want that? Even Munkustrap was befuddled. "Look. I probably would've done the same thing if it had been you being taken away. All right?" Good God, that left a weird taste in his mouth. "Let's not waste any more time." He sheepishly paced ahead of him.

For Tugger, that was a heartfelt conversation. Either way, it was more than Munkustrap had expected. He grinned to himself and followed behind. "I can tell you probably cross a lot of streets the way you handled all that traffic."

"I guess you can say I've had some practice in the art of evasion."

"You like to play chicken is what you mean." He snorted.

Tugger curved part of his lip, "It's about knowing what's going on around you at all times. When you pay attention to your environment, nothing... can get... PAST YOU!" He stomped his paw and caught a mouse by the tail. It squirmed to escape. "Hungry?" Munkustrap shook his head; he hadn't even noticed the rodent coming! He was impressed. "Humph. You're lucky." Tugger grumbled at the mouse and let it run free.

"Okay... if we were a thieving, conniving criminal cat, where would we set up base?"

"Somewhere inconspicuous?" Tugger was half-paying attention; he was instead busy trying to coax out a rat from the gutter.

"Come on, I need you to help me think." Munkustrap demanded.

"Bro. I've only been so far out in town. I can't see places I've never been."

The tomcat groaned aggravatedly, "Perfect. Aren't we a pair?" Munkustrap shouldn't put his brother down too much—he himself couldn't imagine things that weren't tangible and he hadn't experienced firsthand. But it would appear that Tugger was better at catching on to his external world and engaging with it than he was. If only he'd pay more attention! "Come on. Look around; where do you suggest we start?"

Tugger poked his head around, "Jesus. Don't you know I'm the last person that oughta be in charge?"

"You're not in charge. You're taking orders." Good to know they could both still be sarcastic while under pressure. Now wasn't the time to argue. They needed to work together.

"I have an idea." Tugger said. Munkustrap trusted his instincts and followed along. He took him to the back alley of a Chinese restaurant, where he dug through the dumpster and found the leftovers of half-eaten takeout.

Munkustrap narrowed his eyes. "You really think he'd come this way, Tugger?"

The Maine Coon threw down some old shrimp and pork strips before joining him on the ground. "Nah. I just felt like something different for breakfast." He pushed over the pork to his brother and he started on the shrimp. Munkustrap was far from appetized.

"This is serious!"

"You really wanna take on Macavity on an empty stomach?" He said with his mouth full. Munkustrap rolled his eyes and gave in. As annoyed as he was, his brother did have a point. He ate the remnants of the pork dish while his brother crunched his way through the shrimp. His brother had a particular taste for anything that he could crush between his teeth. It almost became an odd tic when they were kittens; if his food didn't crunch, he wouldn't want to eat it, so then he'd want to go hunt for something himself. Old Deuteronomy didn't complain because that would just make him more independent when it came time for him to be finding his own food. While Munkustrap didn't want to admit it, this was probably also why Tugger was such a better hunter than he was, even though he ignored all the techniques their father taught them. One of the only benefits that came with his defiant attitude, he supposed.

"Why do humans cook the flavor out of their food?" Tugger randomly enquired. "Don't they know it's better when you eat it right after you kill it?" How was he acting so content after their father had just been catnapped? Or was he just trying to distract himself from the fact? Munkustrap would go along with whatever kept the both of them calm. He ate and listened quietly. "I've seen humans do a lot of weird things to their food. After they cook it, they add things they call 'salt' or 'sauce' to add back flavor. Are they insane?"

"Well, listen to this. In some countries, humans used to eat cats."

Rum Tum Tugger froze and gave him a dirty look. "You told me that when we were kittens!"

Munkustrap couldn't remember. "Did I?"

"Yeah. And it scared the shit outta me! I didn't leave the junkyard for days!" Munkustrap started sniggering; he definitely recalled now – he was a storyteller even back in the day, and gave poor Rum Tum 'tyke' Tugger a good scare with a detailed story of how they boiled a kitten that looked just like him. Tugger, meanwhile, was far from amused. "Yeah, yeah, you laugh until I traumatize your kittens with that story."

"It's true." He dryly said with a smug look.

"Yeah, whatever." Tugger licked his lips and walked down the alley. "Now I'm thirsty."

"Don't let a human see you; you're nice and fat for boiling now."

"Shut it!"

"I wonder what they'd put on you after."

"I'm warning you, Munkustrap!" Munkustrap, still smiling, shut his mouth. When Tugger started calling him by his name, he was getting serious. But in a situation like this, though it was unseen by him, Tugger was glad he'd gotten Munkustrap to tease him a little. Hell, it'd be nice if they could tease each other more often and not when their father was missing.