"So they just…kidnapped you in the middle of the night, right out of your rooms?" Tiger asked in astonishment, after Fievel and Olivia told them what had happened later that morning, outside of Tony and Bridget's house.
Fievel nodded, "It was one of the scariest things I ever had happen to me. And they said we have to keep quiet, or else they'll find some way to get rid of us."
"Hey buddy, not while I'm around, I may be chicken but I'm no coward."
Olivia couldn't help but giggle a little.
"I'm glad yer on our side Tiger. Ratigan ain't the only one who can have a cat fer backup."
"So uh, want me to take you to your usual spot?" Tiger asked.
"Not yet," Olivia answered, speaking lowly, "We're gonna check out the mine today, remember?"
"Yeah, I even brought a canteen for the trip," Fievel said.
"Oh right, I forgot!" Tiger said, "Hop on…and hope we aren't being watched."
"We might be, so we've got to be careful," Fievel said, "If we get caught we could try to say we were just playing or exploring."
"I hope they buy it, but let's try not to get caught in the first place," Olivia said as she climbed onto Tiger's back, and Fievel followed. Tiger began to walk the opposite way he usually took them, taking them out of the city and into the cactus-strewn desert.
"I heard Fidget say Waul owned the saloon now," Fievel mentioned.
Tiger sighed, "Yeah, Kitty told me about that this morning. He's still letting her work there. I guess he had the deed to the property, and now that he's sheriff, it's better not to argue, for now."
"I hope she's taking that alright," Fievel said.
"I wonder what about Nellie Brie, will she be okay livin' there?" Olivia asked.
"As long as Waul and Ratigan don't know what she's up to, Miss Kitty should protect her," Fievel answered, as they passed by another cactus.
The hot weather made him wish they were going to the river instead. He took a swig of water from his canteen.
"I'm thirsty too Fievel, can I have some?" Olivia asked.
"Sure," Fievel handed it to her, and she drank a bit before giving it back, "A good explorer always comes prepared."
Tiger walked toward a rocky outcropping in the distance. The top part was partly collapsed, as Fievel had mentioned earlier. As Olivia surveyed the landscape, she couldn't help but notice something in the sky behind them, circling above. It didn't look like a bird…and it was holding something big.
"Fievel, what's that? Do ye think it's…"
Fievel looked up and squinted. "It's Fidget, and he's holding Chula. They're following us!"
"Oh no, what'll we do?" Tiger asked.
"Don't worry, I've got a plan," Fievel said, taking a slingshot and a rock out of his pocket.
"Ye think you can hit something so small, up that high?" Olivia asked.
"I can try."
Fievel closed one eye and took aim. Waiting for the right moment, as Fidget began to swoop towards them, Fievel let loose. The rock flew up, and appeared to hit Fidget in the head. They could hear faint screaming as the two villainous lackeys fell to the ground in the distance.
"Ye got em!" Olivia cheered, hugging Fievel.
"Alright Tiger, better speed things up. They might catch onto what we're doing."
"Y-yeah, let's get outta here!"
Tiger bolted across the desert, toward the mesa. After some time, they finally came to the steep, rocky outcropping, red as the desert around it. There was a man-made cave, with a rail at its floor, drilled straight into the cliff face. The old mine.
"Do you think your dad's in there?" Fievel asked.
"Only one way to find out," Olivia said, taking out her trusty magnifying class, "But before we go in, let's look fer footprints. Especially cat ones."
Fievel and Olivia slid off Tiger's back.
"You keep on lookout, Tiger," Fievel said.
"I'm n-not gonna hafta go into that creepy mine, am I?" he asked shakily.
"Not unless we need you to," Fievel said.
Tiger breathed a sigh of relief as Olivia examined the ground for tracks. Sure enough the dirt in front of the cave looked like it had lots of tracks. Someone had definitely been there recently.
"I think I see 'em. They look like cat tracks, and mouse ones too," Olivia said.
"Is that proof enough?" Fievel asked.
"I don't know…guess we better venture on inside, and hope fer the best."
"Be careful in there you guys," Tiger said.
"Let me go in first," Fievel said, picking up some pebbles for his slingshot and putting them in his pocket.
"Fievel, it's my daddy in there," Olivia protested, "An' what if someone in there has a gun?"
"I'll shoot it out of their hands. He'll never see it coming."
"Fievel, it's sweet of ya to wanna protect me, but ye don't need to protect me just because I'm a girl," Olivia said with her hands on her hips, "We'll go in together. I learned from Basil an' I know what I'm doing."
"Alright I guess…" Fievel said, having his slingshot ready.
The two of them slowly walked into the dark cavern, along the steel of the rail. Tiger watched closely as they progressed, until it they faded into the darkness.
"Fievel…" Olivia whispered, "I canno' see…we gotta listen, an' we gotta be quiet…"
The two of them followed the steel beneath their feet. In the silence, they could begin to hear something faint, a tapping, or a hammering. Holding Fievel's hand, Olivia led the way toward the noise. It was then that they heard a loud metallic creak. Light shone from the end of the tunnel. It was an oil lamp.
"Alright, lets get back to town," said a gruff voice, "Ratigan's gonna be pleased with the progress that mouse guy's made since we threatened to eat his daughter if he didn't hurry things up."
"Heh, seems like Fidget botching the job turned out to be a blessing in disguise," said another voice, "Letting those brats run around is helping us control both the toymaker and the sheriff."
Olivia gasped, "They really do got me daddy!"
"Shh!" Fievel put his hand over Olivia's mouth.
"Say, didja hear something One-Eye?"
"Yeah…better not be someone snooping, or they're cat nip!"
"We've gotta get out of here," Fievel whispered, "It's Waul's gang."
"But…b-but me daddy!" Olivia whispered desperately.
Fievel tugged at her hand and began running in the other direction, down the steel railing as the two cats gained on them. Olivia's shoes made hard noises against the railing as she ran along with him.
"They're runnin' away! After them!"
Fievel and Olivia were running as fast as they could now, toward the exit of the cave where Tiger stood waiting.
"Tiger, get us out of here!" Fievel shouted.
"Ah it's those brats! After 'em, don't let them escape!"
Fievel looked back, recognizing the cat with the eye patch. He'd been the one that had destroyed his family's home back in New York, right before they moved out west. With him was another cat in a cowboy hat, with a thick mustache. It was Sweet William. The three orphans were there as well.
Tiger held his paws out, "Come on!"
Fievel and Olivia jumped into his paws, and he placed them on his head before running as fast as he could on all fours. Dashing into the desert, he darted back toward Green River.
"You brats is up the creek without a paddle now, y'hear?!" One-Eye shouted, his voice echoing from the mouth of the cave, "Once Waul and Ratigan hear about this, you're history!"
"So tell me, Mr. Ratigan, what are your plans to revitalize this town?"
Nellie Brie kept her pad and pencil ready as Ratigan and Waul sat at a table in the saloon, accepting auditions for new singers. She had been drilling Waul and Ratigan for information for the past few hours now, still pretending to be writing a tell-all article on Green River for The Daily Nibbler. Luckily the villains had bought her story. But, she'd been watching them ever since the afternoon before at the rally. She watched as Waul had casually strolled into the bar and informed Miss Kitty that she didn't own it and in fact never did, and later that night she watched them interrogate and threaten the helpless Fievel and Olivia. Luckily she was used to getting little sleep. Vartan was sitting on a nearby barstool, one much too big for a mouse given that this was the cat and dog side of the saloon, as usual making a sketch, this time of Waul.
"Oh? Well it's all very simple Ms. Brie," Ratigan answered, as a large female mouse with blonde pony tails and a Viking hat sang opera on the stage, "Waul happened to find out about a little gold mine just outside of town. It's all very hush-hush now so don't go spreading this around, but as soon as we have access to the gold, our plan will come into action."
"Plan, you say?" she raised her eyebrow.
"Yes indeed, you see a couple of years ago Waul discovered the lost mine of one Jeremiah, but Chula triggered a booby trap which caused the whole thing to cave in. Several other citizens were there as well when it happened but you'll get several different biased accounts of what really went on; and besides Waul is a changed cat now. Anyway, we've employed several hardy workers to drill and blast through the rubble to retrieve the gold. As soon as we reach the gold, we're going to make sure that a human finds out about it. The humans will come back to Green River in droves, bringing with them food and commerce that all species will benefit from. This town will blossom like a desert cactus once again."
Nellie wrote down everything Ratigan was saying, "Aha…ingenious plan, Professor Ratigan. I do hope it works."
"Oh but it shall," Ratigan said, "And perhaps, after being voted mayor and putting this town on the map again, I can parlay my political success toward grander endeavors."
"Like running for governor?"
"For starters, yes." Ratigan gave a toothy grin.
The singer on stage hit a particularly piercing high note that made everyone in the room cringe.
"Bloody awful, in fact I believe I've heard this singer before," Waul said, as he listened to the performance on stage, "Next!"
As the singer disappointedly exited, there was silence, before a shy face peeked from between the curtains.
"A-am I on?" Tanya asked meekly.
A smile spread across Waul's face, "So glad you could make it, my dear Tanya. There's little point in auditioning for you really, but, why not. Let's hear that voice again. It's been far too long."
Ratigan narrowed his eyes, "Hm, so this is that 'diva' you've gone on about before. I don't see what's so impressive about her. Sure you weren't just playing with your food?"
"Wait until you hear her voice, Ratigan…just wait."
Nellie turned her eyes toward Tanya as she stepped onto the stage, wearing a fine dress and a feather in her hair. Was this Tanya Mousekewitz? It had been so long since she'd seen Tanya. She looked almost completely different.
Tanya cleared her throat, and began to sing, with her hands clasped together in front of her chest, "I lose my way, no one cares. The words I say, no one hears. My life it seems…is a world of dreams."
Ratigan's jaw slowly began to drop, as Waul let out a sigh.
"Deep in the night, you'll find me. Dream and you're right, beside me. Stay…if you will stay. We'll dream the night, away…"
As she continued to sing the chorus of "Dreams to Dream", Ratigan looked absolutely captivated by her. Waul wiped away tears. Nellie covered her mouth, trying not to laugh at their reactions. Really, she didn't know what had come over them, especially Waul who was a cat. She glanced over at Vartan to see what he thought of their reactions, and then blinked. He too stared at Tanya with his mouth agape, under her spell.
"…Շատ սիրուն է…" he uttered under his breath in Armenian, dropping his pencil.
"Oh honestly. Men," Nellie rolled her eyes.
She turned to watch Tanya as she twirled and danced to the song, until finally she finished. When she did, Ratigan and Waul both stood and clapped.
"Why, that was magnificent!" Ratigan said, "Beautiful! Waul wasn't kidding, you are a diva!"
Tanya blushed a bit and looked down, as Papa Mousekewitz came from backstage.
"So, you vill hire my daughter?"
"Ah, Bernard Mousekewitz," Cat R. Waul said, "As long as you approve, of course we will. I presume you've heard about my change of heart, yes? My denouncement of eating meat?"
"I have, Vaul," Papa answered, "Tell me how my daughter vill be kept safe if she vorks here."
"Ah, Master Mousekewitz, a valid question," Waul said, "We have hired security, bouncers you might call them, who will not only keep her safe while she's performing but will escort her to her dressing room and escort her home if need be, at around midnight. And relax, I run a respectable establishment here. Nothing too provocative will ever be taking place, I assure you."
"And ze pay?" Papa asked.
"She'll start at five dollars per performance, and she can keep any tips she makes."
"Very vell, Vaul, she can vork here," Papa said.
Tanya was overjoyed, and she hugged her father tightly. Nellie tried to hide the worry in her face. Another Mousekewitz kid was getting mixed up with these conmen. This town needed Basil now. They needed him yesterday. But Nellie's letters might not reach him for at least two or three weeks, even though she'd sent them by express (which for mice sending things to England and Europe meant that after traveling by train to New York it would be taken across the Atlantic by an albatross, much quicker than human mail could travel). As soon as Basil read that Ratigan was alive and in the American west he was going to jump through the roof for sure. But Nellie knew he'd get to Green River as fast as possible…which sadly might not be fast enough. The whole thing could take over a month. What she needed now was to get in contact with Fievel and Olivia again, but without getting caught. She needed to make sure they wouldn't try anything foolish.
It was at this point that Chula and Fidget entered from beneath the swinging doors of the saloon, looking dusty, bruised and haggard, Fidget having a tremendous bump on his head, limping with a broken peg. Ratigan and Waul turned to face them.
"Why, what happened to you?" Ratigan asked, "Aren't you supposed to be…out?"
"We've got trouble boss!" Chula said, looking around at the others in the room with a shifty gaze, "Big trouble…"
"Y-yeah! And I broke my peg!" Fidget chimed in.
Nellie had a sinking feeling in her gut. It was too late to warn them; now they'd gone and done it. She needed to find them right away.
"Th-thank you for the interview, Ratigan, I'll be back later." she said, walking to the edge of the table and sliding down the leg, quickly heading for the mouse bar so she could go upstairs and find Miss Kitty.
