Chapter 11

Basil, Olivia, and Dawson were thrown into a dark room with lit torches. Even though Rosenberg had them untied, Olivia got up quick and was about to charge, when Schmidt pulls a pistol on her.

"Easy...Schmidt..." Rosenberg said, but his partner still trains his pistol on her as they exit the room.

"Let them...have...a few...hours to...themselves," the rat adds and locks the door. Olivia runs up to the door and hits it with her fists, but the mice laugh at her through the bars of the door. She gives up and returns to Basil's side.

"Elliott, I'm sorry," she said, tearfully.

"For what my dear?" he asks, still cradling his rib cage.

"For calling you out like that, now Rosenberg is going to do something far more barbaric than Ratigan, I just feel it," Olivia answers, a few tears falling from her eyes.

"No, I'm glad you did," the detective replies, both Olivia and Dawson look at him in confusion. "If we are going to die, at least a few will know we died for each other, but I swear that won't happen," he adds and rubs his abdomen.

Olivia moves his hands aside and checks his ribs for any abnormalities, but Basil begins to chuckle. "That tickles," he said and they both smile. He stands to his feet, taking a few deep breathes and roams around the room.

"Does it hurt?" Olivia asks, but he shakes his head.

"I've been through much worse, believe me," he said and Olivia nods.

"I remember, I thought you were dead when you fell from Big Ben," she replies and he takes her in his arms.

"I must say, I'm surprised you read a lot about health," he said and she nods.

"I guess I got intrigued with the medical field, but there's a lot about our brains that we don't know about," she replies and Dawson nods.

"It is a strange, but fascinating piece of machinery, so to speak," the doctor said and Olivia begins to chuckle.

"I should've told Rosenberg "It's elementary,", but I can tell he hates women. Oh, I'm remembering Robert Kinkle all over again, the selfish brute," she replies and the two male mice laugh. Basil tightens his embrace on Olivia.

"Can I tell you my biggest regret?" he asks and she nods. "I was a fool for not finding you earlier, even a year after the case. I missed out on your achievements and-" Olivia stops him with a kiss. They did not break away for a minute and when they did, Dawson was staring at them with a smile.

Then, they hear Rosenberg's sinister laughter, they failed to notice him, Schmidt and even Karl entering back into the dark room. Basil hides Olivia behind him, arms out and he gives the rat an angry look.

"Love...a foolish...emotion..." Rosenberg whizzes and says, "It can... destroy...everything..."

"I beg to disagree, Rosenberg. The lot of you take from mice who long to live a peaceful life," Basil replies, but Rosenberg shakes his head.

"I was...like you...Mr. Basil..." he said and continues, "I too...fell in love...and married..."

The three stare at the rat in shock as he continues, "But...all that...changed...when I longed...for a...much...evil...life..." No one spoke and Olivia clutches Basil's arm.

"She...on the...other hand...didn't like...the life...of crime...she almost...turned me in...to the police...but Ratigan...helped me out," Rosenberg said.

"What did you do to your wife?" Olivia asks, it was out of curiosity, but she knew she was going to regret the answer.

"Divorce...is a...nasty affair...but I couldn't...let her...rat me out...to the authorities...so I poisoned her...with arsenic..." Rosenberg said, still struggling with his breathing, but he gave a look of pride and achievement.

"Arsenic?" Basil replies and he rubs his temple.

"What is it?" Olivia asks and his eyes grew wide.

"There was a case many years ago, right before Rosenberg rose to power. A rat woman, found dead in an alley, she had been poisoned with arsenic. For a long time, I thought she was just a random victim, but..." Basil trails off and stares at Rosenberg in anger. "She had her wedding ring on, but I couldn't find any leads to a husband. That is, you destroyed all records of her marriage, your marriage," he finishes.

The three look at Rosenberg, who gives a sneer and says, "Women...are a...worthless...lot...always going to...great lengths...for equality...That's why they...need to...stay silent..."

"You bastard!" Basil said, "You are nothing, but a sadist, just like Ratigan."

"The strong shall rule the weak!" Schmidt yells out and Rosenberg chuckles. Then he whispers in his partner's ear, but Schmidt gives him a look of surprise. "Sir, are you sure?" he asks and Rosenberg nods. "But it won't be dark by the time-"

"I plan...on celebrating...my achievement...when it's dark..." Rosenberg said and looks at the three mice. "On the...other hand...we will wait...until the sun...starts to set..." he adds.

"Rosenberg, what do you plan on doing?" Basil asks and the rat looks at him with a sinister grin.

"Finishing...what we...started...twelve years ago..." he answers and walks out the door with Schmidt and Karl, then locking the door, again.

"I'm not letting you kill Elliott!" Olivia shouts through the bars, but Rosenberg stares back at her.

"It's not...him...I'm going...to kill...first..." the rat replies and he walks away. Olivia looks back at Basil and Dawson with confusion written on their faces. Then, Basil's face lights up as if he realized something.

"No, no, no!" he cries out.

"Basil, what's wrong?" Dawson asks, but then the detective embraces Olivia in a tight squeeze.

"I'll kill him before he places a finger on you!" Basil exclaims, tears falling from his eyes, but Olivia pushes him away.

"Get a hold of yourself Elliott! There has to be a way out! Use that big brain of yours!" she encourages him.

"I'm trying, but there's nothing in here that will help us out!" he replies in a frustrated tone. Olivia looks at the door and at the lone window in the cell, there was no way that neither one would fit.

Olivia goes to the door and looks at the hinges, they were stuck tight in place. "No good," she said and sits up against the wall. Basil sits up beside her and holds her close.

"I know you never accept defeat, but what about now?" Olivia asks.

"My dear, it's going to be all right," Basil replies, but notices the tears falling from Olivia's eyes and he also feels his eyes fill with tears. He hears Olivia sigh and he also lets out a sigh. He wasn't sure if it was of peace or acceptance of their fate.

Hours had passed and Basil looks up out the window to see the sky turn a soft blue. The sun also turned into a hard gold color, it was nearing sunset.

Olivia had fallen asleep in his arms and he looks to see Dawson, he also had fallen asleep.

Then, they heard the lock of the door turn and Rosenberg and some of his crew enter in. "Time to get this over with," Schmidt said, but Basil refuses to release his grip on Olivia.

"I'm not letting you take her!" he shouts, but some of the crooks held up their pistols.

"Want to do it the hard way? It's fine by me," Schmidt replies with a snicker. Then, the crooks charge at Basil and Olivia, separating them.

"Leave her alone!" Basil screams and he was thrown against the wall. Olivia's hands were tied behind her back and she was forced out of the cell.

"Damn you Rosenberg!" the detective shouts at the rat.

"As I...said...love is...a foolish...thing..." the rat replies and adds, "But don't...fret...I'll be generous...and bring...her body...back to you...that is...if we find her..."

Basil's insides grew cold and he shivers, mostly in fright. He was reliving the memory of him and Dawson being strapped into Ratigan's 'Overkill Trap', but this wasn't anything like this.

He was prepared to charge at Rosenberg, but Olivia looks back at him. "Elliott, it's going to be all right, like you said," she reminds him, but he had to disagree this time. It wasn't going to be all right.

"Take a good look," Schmidt tells them, "This will be the last time you see each other alive." The criminals laugh as the two look at one another with tears in their eyes.

The crooks leave with Olivia and locking the door, again. Basil charges at the door, but it was no use, it was made of iron and wood and he couldn't put a dent in the iron.

Basil notices Rosenberg giving the door's key to a female mouse, she was wearing a maid's dress. He then recognizes her as Hedwig or Hedgy, the leading maid of the Koffman's.

"If you...be...good...we'll bring...back...the children..." Rosenberg said to Hedgy.

The maid nods and Rosenberg leaves the dungeons with his crew and Olivia as his hostage. Basil falls to his knees, hands covering his eyes, he couldn't think of anything to save Olivia.

"Basil! Look!" Dawson shouts and the detective looks to see his partner staring out the window. Basil looks and sees a dirigible, similar to the one Ratigan had and they watch as Rosenberg and his crew force Olivia in.

Karl, who stood on the side, couldn't take it any longer. He marches up to Rosenberg and shouts, "This has gone far enough, Rosenberg! I want to see my wife and children!"

Rosenberg gives Karl a smirk and looks at Schmidt with a sinister grin. Schmidt pulls out his gun and points at Karl. "Your assistance is no longer required," he said and pulls the trigger.

BANG!

Basil hears the gunshot and watches as Karl and another soldier collapse. He sees Rosenberg's crew pull out their guns and aiming at Karl's army and then watches the dirigible fly away with Rosenberg, his crew and Olivia.

The detective collapses to the ground, again, he had witnessed the death of an old friend and all he could think of was Olivia's pending doom.


From the author: Rosenberg certainly is a dirty rat, but he will face a grueling punishment! Just hang tight my friends!