Hello there everybody, so here we are with the next chapter. When we last left our four mice, they prepared themselves for a party that Cain was holding in his mansion for many wealthy and non-wealthy business mice, and they go in disguises. Basil is able to gain Cain's trust so that he can show him around, and Olivia and Jake share a quick dance before they secretly follow a guard who has caught Lily. Now, the major plot will finally be revealed, Enjoy.

Chapter 20

As the party continued throughout the mansion, Basil and Cain were walking down the hallway, stopping every now and then as Cain shook hands with and greeted some of the party goers, which were very important senators and business mice. Basil had to admit, that even though this rat was a dangerous criminal, he had built a big reputation in the eyes of big corporations and companies, even though it may not be true. After a long walk, they had made their way to a big door that was at the end of a hallway, away from the large party outside. A butler stood on one side of the door, and Cain walked up to him.

"Open the door" Cain simply said to the butler. The servant nodded and pulled it open, allowing the rat and the mouse detective in disguise to walk straight into the room, before the butler closed the door behind them. When Basil looked back at room, he was impressed by what he saw before him. Before them, there was a massive office and private study that had pictures or newspaper articles of some of the rat's accomplishments as his business persona, and there were also racks or special displays of things that were apart of those accomplishments. Others things that were in the study were rare paintings, a large book shelf, and a few other things that Cain himself had been collecting and gaining.

"I have to admit, this is quite the collection that you have here" Basil said, still speaking in his American accent as part of the disguise.

"Well, I don't mean to brag, but I have gone through so many accomplishments that I have made quite a name for myself" Cain said to him as he walked over to his desk, he pulled one of his drawers out, and took out the contents that were inside. As Basil walked over to Cain's desk, he saw that he had pulled out two glasses and a bottle of rare liquor that Basil could smell once the top was taken off.

"New York brown scotch" Basil said "Dates to about 1812"

"You are correct" Cain replied "This is from one of my private collections. I bought it in New York a couple years ago from one of the finest wine and drink collectors there is" He poured the liquid into both glasses, and handed one of them to Basil, while Cain kept the other and set the bottle aside "I have a large wine cellar in the basement, all wine here and imported, but I can show you that later" Basil looked at the glass that he was holding, and then back at Cain.

"Shall we have a toast" Basil said to him.

"Yes we shall" Cain said, he thought about what he was going to toast to and then turned back to Basil "To good business" the two clinked their glasses, and each took a drink of the scotch, then Cain took a rest in his chair while Basil continued to marvel at the massive study before him.

"I got to hand it to you Cain" Basil said to him "You have everything a creature could want. A wealthy business, a rich and clean lifestyle, and all I can think is what helped fuel that need to help the world" Cain looked at Basil, got up, and smirked.

"Well, I have lived a long life Mr. Thatch and I am not getting any younger" Cain explained to him "It is like the Americans say, It is important to enjoy life while you still can"

"That's true" Basil said "But I just want to know, how is it that you have become so wealthy and successful" Cain took another sip of the scotch before he cleared his throat.

"Well, let's just say that I have had a brush with death before" Cain said to Basil "And I have survived"

"How is it that you've cheated death" Basil asked him.

"That's not important right now" Cain said to him "What is important is that after I had survived the experience of near-death, it made me realize something, something that could be created, and can come true in the eyes of many"

"And what might that be?" Basil asked him.

"The future" Cain replied after he had finished his glass of scotch "I now believe that my own plans for the future can be created, and with enough hard work and dedication, it can come true" Basil was now intrigued by what Cain was saying to him, and he knew that he was starting to get one step closer to finding out what it is that Cain is concocting.

"What exactly are your plans for the future?" Basil asked the rat. Cain was sitting in his chair, and his ears perked up when Basil, or Mr. Thatch, asked him this question.

"Well I am glad you asked" Cain said as he sat up from his chair, the rat walked over to one of the large windows, and looked out at the horizon that was shown in front of it "Do you see what I see out there Mr. Thatch?" Basil looked to where Cain was looking out the window, and was confused by what he was getting at.

"I don't think so" Basil simply replied.

"Well, just to make it clear to you, what I see, is a new country being formed" Cain said to him as he looked out the window "The world is changing, new countries are being formed, new industrial miracles are being created, and because of this, many people and mice will take part in this, as they will start to adapt to this new world, to either be a part of it, or be left behind" Basil was listening to everything that he was saying, and felt that what he was about to lead to could be the disaster that they were predicting "I feel that if I could bring the future to this world, I could help others, to save the lives of both the rich and the poor, to change the world for all species"

"That does sound interesting" Basil said "What is it that you use to make sure that your plan becomes a reality"

"I am glad that you asked" Cain said as he turned his attention away from the window and started to walk to another door that was right next to the large book case "Come Mr. Thatch, let me share to you some of my personal achievements"

"But aren't they in here?" Basil asked him.

"Ah, you see, those are just a few of my accomplishments" Cain explained to him "There are many more displays in the next room, follow me" Basil finished the scot that he had in his hand, set the glass down on one of the tables, and then started to follow Cain to the door, where he went in before Cain closed the door softly.

Meanwhile on the other side of the mansion, the guard was still dragging Lily with him, and Jake and Olivia, still in their party dresses, were following the two of them to see where exactly they will lead them to. Lily still struggled and when there weren't other guests around, the guard now had a gun pointed at her back. Olivia let out a small and quiet gasp, while keeping her mouth covered so she doesn't yell out for her.

"Don't think you can try to struggle your way out of this" the guard said to her "Because you'll already be dead if you try to run away. Now keep moving" Lily looked at the gun that was pointed at her, and let out a deep breath before she continued to walk down the hallway, with the gun still pointed at her and beads of sweat dripping from her forehead. Olivia and Jake watched as she was being taken away by the mouse guard, who still had the gun on her. The two young mice did their best to remain unseen by the guard as they followed him. They followed them outside of the mansion, where the hostage was being led down a flight of stairs that led away from the balcony and appeared to be heading somewhere beneath the mansion. They waited for the two to get off the stairs before they continued to follow them, as they were now heading to a platform that led to a bunker. Jake and Olivia hid behind a pillar to make sure that there wasn't a guard or two standing in front of them, and they both saw two guards, each with a rifle in his hands. The two of them looked at each other, and knew that they both had the same Idea. Jake went to the far side of the area while Olivia walked out so that she could get the guards attention.

"Oh boys" Olivia called out to both guards, who turned to her in response "Can I just have a moment"

"Hey what are you doing out here" one of the guards said to her.

"Oh it's just that I can't seem to find a good mouse at the party" Olivia said to them in a playful tone, perhaps, maybe you two would be interested in me" she started to show off her dress, and the two guards started to look attracted to her, as she started to move closer to one of the guards, and stroke her hand up against it. Then, at the right moment, Jake came up behind one of the guards and covered his mouth to keep him from yelling or breathing, and Olivia punched one of the guards in the face, knocking him out instantly while Jake laid the now unconscious guard that he had captured down on the floor. The two of them proceeded to drag them to the other side of the platform before they started to go back to the door that the guard was leading Lily to. The door was locked, but luckily, Olivia had grabbed the keys that one of the guards was holding, and flipped through the keys until she found the right one and lodged it into the door, which opened. The two young mice looked through the door, and then at each other.

"Lady's first?" Jake offered to Olivia.

"No, after you" Olivia said "I can cover the rear" Jake knew that they needed to get in, but he also knew that he wanted to keep Olivia safe.

"If you insist" Jake said to her. He pulled the concealed pistol out of his coat and cocked the hammer, while Olivia picked out a small derringer pistol that was concealed under her dress. The two then proceeded to make their way through the door slowly and quietly as they both had their weapons at the ready. They snuck their way behind several pillars and dark spots until they saw a light at the end of the small hallway they were walking through, which was coming from a sliding peephole that was on the door. They slowly walked up to the door, and both took a peep through the slider, and they saw before them a large prison chamber that had cages, chains, and all of the area that was made of wood and iron with a few guards and not too many prisoners. They looked around, but they couldn't seem to find Lily or the guard.

"Do you see Lily?" Jake asked Olivia as quietly as he possibly could.

"No, I don't see her in any of these cells or cages" Olivia replied. Then, something caught her eye, an interrogation that was going on in the upper corner of the jail area "Wait a minute, look up there" Jake looked to where Olivia's attention was and saw the interrogation that was going on at the moment, four guards, including the one that was taking Lily, were surrounding a prisoner, with both a whip and a bucket of water, that were being used as small torture methods.

"Now tell us, who are you here with" One of the interrogators asked Lily in a cold tone. Lily was on her knees, breathing heavily, as she had already received a hit to the face, and had splashed water in her face as a means of water boarding, but she still wouldn't talk.

"I don't know what you're talking about" Lily said trying to lie to them in order to get out of the situation that she was in.

"Don't you dare lie to us little lady" one of the guards said to her "We saw you sneaking around the mansion, looking around trying to find something. So tell us, who are you with, and what were you doing at the party?" Lily still held her ground as she continued to face hits and threats from the guards that were keeping her held up. Olivia looked worried, as did Jake, as they tried to figure out how they were going to get their friend out of this.

"We have to do something" Olivia whispered to Jake.

"I know" Jake said "But I don't want to risk you getting killed in there"

"Don't worry, I'm sure we can think of something" Olivia said to him, the two of them looked around to see if they could find a way to sneak up there without being spotted, and that's when Olivia spotted a small tunnel at the side of the prison cell that was used as a chute to bring certain items down from the prison cell for the guard to pick up and carry somewhere else "Follow me" she whispered to Jake, who turned and saw her open the door to the chute and started to crawl through the tunnel, while Jake followed her from behind, and quietly trying to catch up. They made their way through the chute, which was dusty and dirty from not being used in a while, but they didn't mind. After a few minutes, they made their way to the top are of the prison chamber, and both got out of the door and up on their feet, silently brushing off some of the dust that was on their clothing before they slowly started to walk down the area to the hallway where the interrogators were still holding Lily. Jake and Olivia stopped right next to the cell, and pulled out their weapons to be ready. They snuck to the front side of the gate, where they saw one of the guards take out a hot, iron prod, which he was about to use on Lily to continue the torture, and Olivia knew that she couldn't take it anymore. She walked into the area, raised her gun and immediately fired at the first guard that she could see, killing him instantly. The rest of the guards were shocked by this, and rushed to whatever weapons they had. Before they could strike however, Jake arrived into the room, and knocked one of the guards out and shot another guard down while Olivia knocked the fourth and final guard out with a swift kick to the head. After the two had taken care of the captors, they rushed over to where Lily was, and looked at her, she looked back.

"What took you guys so long" Lily said with a smirk, feeling good to see that they had come to her aid.

"Are you alright" Olivia asked her.

"Yeah, I do have some bruises and a cut, but besides that I'm fine, now that you guys are here" Lily said to them as she was being set free. Lily then grabbed a pistol that was in one of the guards pocket, and followed them out of them jail cell. They were about to make their way down to the entrance until they heard a voice call for them.

"Seniors, wait" someone called out to them. The three looked around to see where the sound was coming from; they could tell that the voice was coming from a prisoner that was a Mexican.

"Down here" the voice called out again. The three looked down from where they were and saw a couple of paws sticking out from one of the jail cell that was down below them. The three young mice then went down the stairs and followed to where the sounds of the prisoner were coming from, and where the paws were sticking out. When the three of them made it to the cell, they saw an old mouse standing up, and were looking at them in hopes of escape. The mouse appeared to be Mexican, he had a black sombrero, and his clothes were a bit dirty and had rags, he had a thick, black mustache, and appeared to be bulgy, but he didn't look too fat.

"Please, please help me" the Mexican said to them "I have been locked in here for days, and I need somebody to get me out of this jail cell" the three mice looked at each other, and then back at the Mexican, wondering if they should let him out.

"I think we should let him out" Olivia said. Jake and Lily looked at her "I know that we don't know him, but I bet that this has something to do with Cain, so at least do the right thing" Jake looked at the cage, and figured that they have time.

"Alright, I guess we can let you go" Jake said. He took out the keys that he had taken from one of the guards, and started to unlock the iron door. The door opened and the Mexican mouse walked out with a smile on his face and started walking away. Before he could however, he turned around to the three young mice that had freed him.

"Gracias amigos" the mouse said to them "I will find a way to repay you soon"

"We appreciate that" Olivia said. The Mexican mouse nodded as he grabbed his gun belt on the rack, and ran out another exit that led out of the prison cell so he can find a way out of the prison area. Jake, Olivia, and Lily knew that they had to get out, but they needed to find Basil first.

"Alright let's get out of here and find Basil" Jake said to Lily and Olivia. They made their way to the entrance to the prison cells, but when they opened the door, they saw several guns pointed at them from the door, and Olivia shuddered at a particular mouse that had a pistol aimed at them. Tyson looked at them, with his gun still aimed at them and smiled as he knew that he had them right where he wanted them.

"Well, well, it looks like you kids are finished playing your little game" Tyson said to them as the guards rushed and stripped their weapons away from them "Now let's go, I'm sure that my boss would love to meet you three" Jake and Olivia looked at each other, and then at Lily, and figured that they had no other choice. Without another word, the three of them started to walk behind Tyson, being trained on by other troops, as he began to lead them back to the mansion, and straight to his boss.

And that will do for now, I know it seems bad right now, but don't worry, there is one more big plot to be revealed, and the Mexican that Jake, Olivia, and Lily freed will play a major role later, probably in the next chapter. I will try not to reveal anything else to you from here on out, as I feel that it will keep the suspense up. As always, please review and I will update as soon as I can. Adios amigos!