Chapter 15- More of Nigel's taunts, Catina begins to follow the thieves
Soon, the front door of Susan and Lucy's house was covered by a large cloak. Under the cloak were the three owners with the wheelbarrows ready to receive the cages. As soon as the three owners were ready, Cazador ordered all the caged birds to be loaded into the barrows. The cats, crows and other falcons, and Nigel obeyed and they passed the caged macaws through the hole in the door where the cat/dog flap once resided. The poachers' pets had torn the flap out of the door in order to force their way into the house before the skirmish resulting in the kitchen and living room turning into the bombsite mess they were now in. As Blu and Jewel's cage was loaded into one of the wheelbarrows, Otis attached nine more padlocks onto their cage door to prevent Blu from unlocking the door easily. With ten padlocks, it would take Blu an awfully long time to pick them all with his claws and thus buy the cats and crows more time to stop him in his tracks. Blu gazed in despair at the additional padlocks as he and Jewel disappeared into the wheelbarrow. As the birds continued to be loaded into the wheelbarrows, Zephyr and his four chicks Justin, Charlotte, Matilda and Virgil desperately looked around for Aurora while Lapis Lazuli, Tristan, Quincy, Larimar and Trixie looked around for Levi. They, along with all the other birds including Travis and his family, were terrified, and the mean and mocking eyes from the cats and Nigel as they glared at them struck fear into them, especially the chicks and Aurora and Levi for this brought back hideous memories. As his family's cage was placed into a wheelbarrow, Athos was pondering over what Nigel said about helping in smuggling him, Porthos, Aramis and Phoebe out of South America when they were chicks while Ruby continued trying to keep Spinel, Alexandre and Poinsettia calm.
"What is going to happen to us, Mom?" whimpered the first chick listed timidly.
"I don't like what those awful cats and birds are doing to us," whimpered the second chick in the list, his terror filled brown eyes watching the crows and cats as they checked the macaws and Travis and his family.
"We wanna be outa here," whimpered the third, "And I especially don't like the way that mean cockatoo is picking on Aunt Aurora, Uncle Levi and Carla, Bia and Tiago."
Ruby kept them in a tight hug.
"Just try not to let your panic get out of control, my kids," she whispered in a comforting voice, "We'll figure a way out."
The three chicks continued cowering in her wings when Ruby saw Athos deep in thought.
"Are you formulating a plan, Athos?" she asked. Athos snapped out of his thoughts and looked at her.
"What? No, not at the moment," he said, "I was just searching my mind for any memories of meeting Nigel when I was smuggled out of this continent…"
Ruby gazed back at him with sympathetic eyes. "It seems that you must have gone through something similar to Levi and Aurora at the clutches of that rotten cockatoo, Athos, along with Porthos, Aramis and Phoebe, and possibly D'Artagnan as well," she said, "Only that cockatoo Nigel might have treated you more violently than he did Levi and Aurora as they could now remember their birthplace."
Athos returned the gaze. "Well, based on what Nigel said, it would seem so? Part of me is refusing to believe that I met Nigel as a chick."
Ruby was about to reply when Athos's mood suddenly changed from puzzlement on meeting the wicked cockatoo to one of determination. His feathers rose as he saw Nigel pick on Carla, Bia and Tiago and frightening them again, in addition to displaying his barb-like talons and threatening to physically harm them again. The three chicks released squeals of terror and cowered in the side of the cage furthest from the cockatoo, especially at his clawed foot. With a look of thunder on his face, Athos glared fiercely at the cockatoo.
"When we get to whosoever's place," he growled under his breath, "I'm gonna try and bust everyone out of here, even if it means risking death."
Ruby shuddered as she remembered Athos almost facing that from one of the falcons when he had one of the crows by the neck as a threat to Nigel in order to stop him bullying and terrorising Levi and Aurora. Then suddenly, a cockatoo screech, followed by three loud frightened Spix macaw chick screams, made the scarlet macaw family jump. Nigel had screeched loudly into Carla, Bia and Tiago's faces, with his eyes bulging and crest fully raised, and at the same time he lashed his clawed talon at them in a mock attempt to scratch them to add to the scare and when he saw them quiver and cry hysterically, he entered an episode of maniacal laughter.
"Oh, it sure is fun seein' the offspring of my most detested blue macaws suffer," he crooned. Seeing the foul cockatoo laugh at Carla, Bia and Tiago's distress and fear finally made Athos snap. Shaking with rage and like a crack of lightning, he yelled at the cockatoo.
"Stop it, Nigel," he cried. Nigel did not hear the lead Musketeer-named scarlet macaw's protests and blasted Carla, Bia and Tiago with another terrifying scare, making them scream all the more and then cry even more hysterically.
"I said STOP PICKING ON THOSE THREE SPIX MACAW CHICKS, NIGEL!" bellowed Athos at the top of his voice. This caught Nigel's attention and he shot the scarlet macaw a threatening glare.
"Would you like me to get Cazador or one of the other falcons to come and tear you apart, scarlet macaw?" growled Nigel. Athos was about to retort when Ruby stopped him.
"No," snapped Athos bitterly. He tried to look afraid but Nigel could see straight through the façade.
"I can see you're not afraid, scarlet macaw," crooned the cockatoo wickedly, pacing towards the scarlet macaw family. Alexandre and his sisters whimpered and shuddered with fear in Ruby's wings and Ruby pulled them closer to her, but Athos maintained a bitter glare even as Nigel shoved his beak into his face. Then a stench tainting Nigel's breath wafted into Athos's nostrils, making him flinch in revulsion.
"Ugh, what have you been eating, cockatoo?" muttered the scarlet macaw, a wing waving in front of his beak to blow away the smelly breath, "Your breath stinks."
"Does it? Good," crooned Nigel wickedly in a voice as slick as diesel, "I hope it makes you feel sick to the point of throwin' up, which is sommat I'd like to see of you."
Suddenly, Ruby lurched forward and sent a yellow and blue wing striking hard across Nigel's face, hitting the exact same spot Jewel and Esperanza had scratched the cockatoo. Nigel flinched from the sharp pain from both the pain of the slap and the scratch.
"GET YA FACE AWAY FROM US you VILE VULTURE!" snarled the female scarlet macaw as she did it. Not far from Athos and his family's cage, Carla, Bia and Tiago watched from their cage, their eyes wide with fear but under that fear, bitterness and scorn. Nigel then shot the scarlet macaw an extremely malicious glare and raised his feathers, including those in his crest, his wing covering the spot where Ruby's wing made contact with his face. His brown eyes burned and glittered with immense hatred and malice. But before he could retaliate, Otis called Nigel's name.
"Can you help me load this cage containing the great green macaws, Nigel," called the black and white cat, "The female's not making things easy for us."
Nigel shot Otis an obedient gaze and then a bitter glare at the scarlet macaws, especially Ruby.
"When I get back to you, red macaws," he growled, "I'm gonna give you a piece of my mind."
Athos, in response, raised a talon and exposed its claws. "Then I'll do to you what Jewel did back in the house if you EVER threaten any of us, cockatoo, especially Carla, Bia and Tiago over there," he growled threateningly. Nigel did not reply and left to help Otis. Ruby looked on as Nigel left, sourness smeared all over her face.
"As much as I am scared of Cazador's promised punishment if we step out of line," she growled, "I'm not gonna have HIM pick on or worse, physically abuse Blu and Jewel's chicks, but I sure hope Blu and Jewel SCORE THEIR CLAWS over him and BREAK HIS WINGS. After all, they do not tolerate their chicks being mistreated."
Athos looked on with an agreeing face as Poinsettia peered out through a gap in Ruby's wings.
"He and Aunt Jewel and Uncle Blu are as incompatible as the metal caesium with water," she said with immense dislike swirling in his voice like ink in a glass of water, "When the three are near each other, explosive results are bound to happen."
"I don't mix with him either," snarled Ruby in disgust of Nigel, "Especially after what he had done to Carla, Bia and Tiago, and also Broccoli and Esperanza when they tried defending them. Not to mention the injury he inflicted on Carla's side."
Then Athos shot Ruby a glare. "And it's a good thing he didn't lash out at you when you slapped his face. Next time, you might not be so lucky."
Ruby sighed and continued glaring after the cockatoo bitterly.
In another wheelbarrow, Levi and Aurora were in a hysterical state like the latter had been after her narrow escape from the terrifying group of flying foxes led by Voldemort shortly after the fire in the Amazon rainforest. They had been placed in a wheelbarrow separate from their families, and were flooded with worry and fear for them besides the terror of facing the killer of their own parents and siblings when they were chicks again. As Levi and Aurora continued timidly looking around, whimpering, shaking and hyperventilating, Porthos and Orquidea tried to calm them down. Orquidea still had her wings hiding Azul, Wilbur and Ariel.
"Levi, Aurora, calm down," begged Porthos. But the pigtailed Spix macaw and turquoise glaucous macaw didn't hear his voice and continued trembling like jellies and breathing shallowly and quickly. Porthos tried to reach a comforting wing from his cage and into Levi's but Levi was out of reach.
"Please, don't panic," begged the burly blue-and-gold macaw in a louder voice, "You've got to get those panic attacks under control!"
Still Levi and Aurora continued shaking, breathing rapidly and whimpering timidly. From Orquidea's wings, Ariel looked on with sympathy. She had been told of these two macaws' backstory and how a wicked cockatoo had tormented them as chicks during their smuggling out of Brazil and now she was seeing the two macaws experience this process all over again. Behind Porthos and his family and Ariel's cage, Aramis and his family looked on sympathetically.
"She's just like what Zephyr had described to me when she was found by Falkor and some of his assistants after the fire," said the male great green macaw, "And Levi looks no different."
Esmeralda, Chlorophyll and Petunia looked on and said nothing. Porthos became flooded with desperation as his two friends looked as though they were about to pass out.
"Please, you two, CALM DOWN!" he cried.
"We will find a way out of here," added Esmeralda. Suddenly, a sickly voice sounded, "You try and tell those panicking Spix and glaucous macaws to calm down one more time and I'll get one of the falcons to come and claw ya to death!"
Upon hearing this threat, the gazes of the adult blue-and-gold and great green macaws snapped from the panicking Levi and Aurora to the disgusting cockatoo. Porthos' feathers bristled like a cat's fur when he saw Nigel walk into the scene, his sadistic eyes gazing at the two panic-stricken macaws. As he saw Levi and Aurora writhe in utter terror at the sight of him, Nigel sauntered towards them in an intimidating way.
"Whassup, you two?" he asked sadistically and in mock sympathy, "Wishin' you were with your pretty lil' mates and chickies?"
"Please, g-g-g-get away from us," Aurora managed to utter some words. Her stomach then began to churn as though she had smelt a nauseating stench. Nigel then stepped up to her cage, his feathers and crest purposely raised and his eyes widened in the most frightening way. He was not doing this out of anger, but out of the intention of striking more fear into Aurora and Levi. He then opened his wings and raised a talon as though poised to attack her. As Aurora took one look at Nigel's threatening posture, images began to flash in her mind as she remembered the violent treatment that same cockatoo had given her and Levi when they were chicks and wouldn't stop crying. Aurora, petrified by the threatening cockatoo, wailed and whimpered and covered her eyes with her wings. Then Nigel turned to Levi and made the same threatening and intimidation pose, frightening him into covering his face with his wings and whimpering loudly and in fear as well. Nigel's beak was creased into the most sadistic laugh as he relished the frightened whimpers uttering from Aurora and Levi's beaks.
"Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha," he cackled, "This is just like when you were lousy little chicks. You're no different from when you were little back then."
Then he burst out into his signature maniacal laughter. Porthos, Orquidea, Aramis and Esmeralda looked on in disgust.
"STOP IT AT ONCE, NIGEL!" bellowed Porthos, "Look what you're doing to them!"
Suddenly, a vicious white face with brown eyes, black beak and pale yellow crest shot in and screeched directly into the muscular blue-and-gold macaw's face, startling him and sending him bumping into Orquidea. The female blue-and-gold macaw released a cry of surprise and fell forward, accidentally releasing Azul, Wilbur and Ariel from her protective cover of wings and throwing them before Nigel. When the two blue-and-gold brothers and the blue-throated macaw chick got a glimpse of the wicked cockatoo's face, they wailed and backed away in utter fear. Nigel then backed away and laughed evilly.
"It's good to see you blue and yellow macaws scared reckless as well," he crooned, before meanly looking down at the terrified Azul, Wilbur and Ariel, "Especially chicks."
Suddenly, a talon flew in from inside the cage, reached through the bars and slashed Nigel's left cheek, knocking him down. The cockatoo cried in shock and pain as he fell on his front. Then Nigel felt something wet on his left cheek. As before, he lifted a tattered wing to that cheek and covered the new scratch mark, before turning in the direction of the blue-and-gold macaws, including the one who had delivered the attack.
"That'll be a taste of what Blu and Jewel will do to you when they get their claws into your ragged plumage and unleash their full fury, vulture-face," snarled Orquidea with a tone of voice that was filled with both scorn and hatred, "And I sure hope they claw you REAL good!"
"Orquidea," shouted Porthos, "get…"
But before he could say 'back', an enraged squawk erupted out of Nigel's beak, before the cockatoo got up, quickly rushed at Orquidea and raked the claws of one his talons across the female blue and yellow macaw's stomach. Orquidea released a cry of agony and fell over.
"ORQUIDEA!" cried Porthos while Wilbur, Azul and Ariel screamed. Nigel then looked on with the most maniacal eyes Porthos and the others had ever seen as the former went over to see to his injured mate. Orquidea was lying on her left side, her face twisted in pain and her wings clasped onto her stomach. A red stain had begun to form on her blue wing flight feathers.
"That is what will happen if you step out of line," growled Nigel with scorn, sadism and threat, his left cheek bleeding slightly from the mark he received from Orquidea's claw swipe. "That is only the gist of what you'll face either from me or the falcons. Now OBEY our ORDERS or YOU'LL BE KILLED!"
He practically screeched those words as he finished this sentence. Then Nigel turned and left to see if the other cages had been packed.
Esmeralda and Aramis looked on as Orquidea curled up on the floor in pain from Nigel's attack to her stomach, Azul, Ariel and Wilbur gathering round and Aurora and Levi timidly looking on.
"I thought he was gonna claw you to death at first," said Porthos, trembling from the shock at Nigel's brief outburst.
"We'd better not lash at Nigel or any of the others like that again," said Aramis warily in the direction in which the cockatoo had left, "Or one of us is potentially gonna get killed."
He then shuddered at the memory of Ruby almost facing that at the clutches of Brutus when she had bitten one of his owners years ago, and didn't want to see Nigel behave like that savage cat. Porthos continued looking over Orquidea as she continued to hold her scratch, before shooting a sad and despairing gaze at the great green macaws and then at Levi and Aurora.
"Then we're trapped in a big dilemma, folks," he whispered darkly, "I have a feeling that Nigel is gonna be behaving like Brutus: violent, rabid and feral when angered, and we're under the claws of those falcons, crows and cats in addition. But then that wretched cockatoo will be using this opportunity to pick on us, especially Blu, Jewel, Carla, Bia and Tiago, and Levi and Aurora with the rest of us kept in check…"
The muscled blue-and-gold macaw then shuddered as he imagined what Nigel might be like if he got angry. Similar to Brutus, Nigel was extremely aggressive whenever he lost his temper he would never enter a seriously feral state like Brutus did. But Porthos knew that things might be different now. Nigel was an extremely dangerous cockatoo with an even worse temper, especially now that he was bent on getting revenge on Blu and his family for his loss of the ability of flight and the misery he had suffered. And this time, Nigel was not going to let anyone get in his way or go against him, and if anyone were to stand in his way or resist, he will not hesitate to use his beak and claws. Then another thought hit Porthos as he recalled what Nigel said to Blu and Jewel in the attic. What did that foul cockatoo mean by putting them 'though the same ordeal Blu and Jewel have both put him through'? Porthos didn't want to think of what Nigel had in mind in regard to this, but he felt that it was something diabolical but thankfully, Nigel did not have plans on killing any of them.
As Nigel and the others including the cockatoo and the cats' new falcon and corvid friends continued loading their prisoners into the wheelbarrows held by three of their owners, five animals watched the activities from behind a bush. Catina, Ginger, Dash, Avellana and James observed with utmost horror written all over their faces. When Dash, Avellana and James had managed to escape during the skirmish, they had left to find Catina and Ginger, but they had not escaped unscathed. All three bore scratches, cuts and bald patches from torn out fur from the fight, but Avellana looked worse than her brother and father. Many of her marks were larger or more serious for she had been combating one of the falcons, and she looked in some pain. But despite the pain from their cuts and bruises, the three greyhounds had managed to find Catina and Ginger as they were returning from their walk and private 'female pet' talk; Dash had explained everything that was happening at home. Ginger and Catina had immediately known that trouble was afoot back at Susan and Lucy's house based on the battered and shaken state of the three greyhounds and had rushed off, followed by Dash, Avellana and James. However, the five was forced to dive into hiding behind a large bush when they saw a large cloaked object. Upon examining the cloaked object properly, Catina had immediately deduced that under the cloak was a group of thieves, for she had used a disguise like that before with Jack, Jill and some of her former teammates to sneak up to and then into Tulio's Aviary to steal birds when she, Jack and Jill used to work for Frank.
As the quintet continued to watch Nigel's group from behind the bush, Catina caught sighted a familiar bird with the ragged yellow crest and green and yellow vest. The moment her eyes landed on the bird, rage tore through her like flames through a flammable gas. Her fur puffed out and she let loose a small hiss.
"Nigel," the calico growled under her breath, "So, he and his cat friends have apparently joined that new group of thieves, have they?"
"That's Nigel?" asked Ginger. She had never seen the infamous psychopathic cockatoo known as Nigel in the flesh before, and Dash, Avellana and James had only briefly met him before making their escape to fetch her and Catina.
"Yes it is," explained Catina darkly, "He's that cockatoo whom Blu would have told you about. He used to work for a group of smugglers and he used to torture and abuse any exotic bird imprisoned in the smugglers' den and during their removal from Brazil. I'm surprised he's managed to survive being pulverised by that plane's propeller…"
"Nigel turned to detest exotic birds after a parakeet displaced him from a film career years ago, didn't he?" asked Dash. Catina nodded to confirm that this was right.
"Looks like they've finished with whatever they had been up to in there," said Avellana. The other four's eyes turned to the cloaked group. All the animals were stood outside; talking with one of the falcons whom Catina deduced was the group leader.
"That's a peregrine falcon," said Avellana, using her knowledge of species to identify the six falcons' species, "And those black birds are crows and ravens. They look highly dangerous, especially the falcons."
"Those birds of prey are, especially if you're a small bird like a pigeon," said Dash, "I've heard that those falcons could reach over 200mph during a vertical dive."
"But them as pets of poachers," said Ginger in puzzlement, "Why would a group of poachers have falcons?"
Then next, the five animals saw Nigel and his group hop into the wheelbarrows under the cloaks and the cloaked unit move away from the door. The calico and four greyhounds ducked behind the bush as the cloaked unit walked past their hiding spot. The five looked out and watched the cloaked unit move like a black ghost down the street. Catina then formulated a plan in her head.
"Right," said the calico, "Here's what we're going to do, I'll go after that cloaked group and find out where their hideout is, and try and rescue those imprisoned macaws, while the rest of you go inside our owners' house and check on Veggie and the others…"
When Ginger heard what Catina was planning to do, she shot the calico an angry look.
"You can't go after that bunch of thieves all by yourself, Catina," she snapped, "That is extremely unwise. What if you ended up caught?"
"And besides that, Otis and his group could get you," added Dash, "Haven't you recognised those cats among that group of animals as they were loading our feathered friends into that cloak?"
Catina looked at the light grey greyhound and deduced that he could be right. Otis and his gang were bent on seeking revenge on her after her abandonment and betrayal of them and leaving them to be caught and taken to a pets' re-homing centre. However, Catina was not aware of Otis and his gang's plans of revenge yet.
"I am aware of the risks involved, you two, and I appreciate your concerns," Catina said adamantly, "But I am not going to leave our feathered friends to face torture and abuse from those animals, especially Nigel," she stole a glance from the cloaked unit as it receded into the distance and then back at Dash and Ginger, "And besides that, I have years of stealth experience on my side built up during my life as a smuggler's cat. That will come in handy when I follow those thieves and see what they are up to…"
Dash and Ginger continued gazing at Catina for a while longer. They were concerned for the calico's safety and weren't sure whether to let her go along with the idea. Finally, Dash relented.
"Okay, but be very careful!" he growled seriously, "And make sure not to put one paw wrong."
"Exactly," said Avellana, "Especially in the direct gaze of the falcons. If those vicious birds spot you, you might not stand a chance."
She then looked at her tattered and scratched pelage (fur) and shuddered. Catina nodded, acknowledging Avellana and Dash's warnings. She then quickly rushed off after the cloaked unit before they receded too far into the distance.
"You four go inside and check on the wellbeing of Veggie and the others," shouted the calico as she left, "And also make sure to go alert Susan and Lucy and possibly Tulio if you can. It's important that they know as soon as possible."
And with that, she disappeared down the street after the cloaked unit, leaving Dash, Ginger, Avellana and James to run for Susan and Lucy's house. The four greyhounds entered the hole where the cat/dog flap was torn from the door and then entered the hallway. On the way in, Ginger examined the cat/dog flap as it lay to the side like a carcass.
"Good grief," she whispered as she brushed it with a paw, "It must have taken some effort to pull this entire thing from the door."
"That was caused by some of the intruders that attacked us," said Dash, "I don't know who managed to rip that flap out of the door but those intruders had been forceful in their entry."
Then pulling their gazes from the discarded dog/cat flap, the four greyhounds continued their entry into the house. Once all four were in the hallway, they made a beeline for the door to the kitchen and living room and entered through it. The moment the four passed through the door, a sharp gasp was drawn in through Ginger's mouth when her eyes were greeted with the carnage that had befallen the kitchen and living room during the intruders' skirmish with Dash's group. However, the four were greeted by more screeches and gasps, but these were of relief, not of awareness. Dash darted his head in the direction of the sounds and saw four cats and two greyhounds bound in.
"Dash, Avellana, James, Ginger!" cried the cat at the front, Veggie. Close behind him were Danny and Esperanza.
"Dad, Mom, Avellana, James," called both at the same time. And behind Veggie and the two greyhounds were Broccoli and his sisters Collette and Daisy. Broccoli hobbled along due to his bitten paw. As soon as the group of mammals had met, they locked each other in a group embrace. Ginger was especially relieved to see all four of her first-litter puppies alive, alongside her tabby cat friend and his three grown-up kittens.
"When Dash told us what was happening at home," she cried, tears of relief and joy streaming down her face as she hugged Esperanza and Danny, and Broccoli, Collette and Daisy with her front paws, "I had been worried-sick! I'm glad you're alright."
Esperanza and Danny and the adult kittens returned their hug. As soon as the cats and dogs had broken the hug, Ginger's eyes caught sighted the scratch on Esperanza's side and the bite wound on Broccoli's left front paw. Horrified by the sight of these injuries, she drew in another sharp gasp.
"What happened!?" she asked.
"That was Nigel's doing," growled Veggie angrily, "Broccoli and Esperanza were trying to protect Carla, Bia and Tiago but Nigel viciously attacked them. He clawed Esperanza down the side and bitten Broccoli's front paw…"
"We need to get that checked up at the vet's now," shouted Ginger angrily, her moods caused by her hormones rising to the surface again, "I hope those wounds aren't too serious…"
"I actually thought that cockatoo was going to break Broccoli's paw when I heard him emit an ear-piercing scream," said Veggie, hot rage flaring within him as he recalled the agony Nigel put Broccoli through during the skirmish. He was barely restraining his anger but it began to manifest itself through his eyes and facial expression. "That cockatoo's a savage vulture, honestly. He bit Broccoli's paw pretty hard. And even worse, he attacked Carla and Bia, scratching the former in addition to scaring them featherless."
Then Ginger finally let her own anger get the better of her. She stormed over to a piece of apple core that had fallen out of an overturned bin and swiped it hard with a paw.
"If I EVER meet that cockatoo, I'm gonna TURN HIM INTO A CHEW TOY!" she barked at the top of her voice. "NO-ONE ATTACKS MY OFFSPRING OR THE OFFSPRING OF MY FRIENDS LIKE THAT and GETS AWAY WITH IT!"
The four adolescent puppies flinched at their mother's rage. Danny quickly dived behind Dash and cowered behind him. Then Ginger stormed past the group and retreated to her bed to get through the outburst. The others looked on.
"Impeccable timing for something like this to happen," muttered Dash angrily. Then Veggie noticed Catina was missing.
"Where's Catina?" he asked. Dash looked at him.
"She's gone after the intruders," he said. This made dread, worry and horror wash through Veggie and the other seven.
"What!?" snapped Veggie incredulously.
"Mom has gone after those vicious pieces of work by HERSELF!?" shouted Collette.
"But she could get killed if she ever gets spotted," added Danny.
"And those falcons and that cockatoo are VICIOUS!" put in Broccoli. He winced from the pain from his badly bitten paw and began to lick it.
"Not to mention that awful black and white cat's burning passion to avenge her for her abandonment of him and his group," added Daisy. She, her brother and sister and the adolescent greyhound pups were aware of Catina's past as a smuggler's cat which she had told them about when they were young. Avellana walked in, wincing from the pain emanating from her scratches.
"She's going to find out where this new group of thieves are hiding and rescue our feathered friends," she explained. Then Veggie lightened up.
"Well, I hope she knows what she is doing," he said, "After all, Catina is very stealthy after spending most of her life as a smuggler's cat. How could she have caught so many birds during that career before she decided to give it up to become a housecat, my mate and a mother to a litter of three kittens?"
"That's true," said Dash, "Looks like the skills that Catina had picked up from a negative life like a smuggler's cat might become useful in a situation like this…"
Then Dash noticed that someone else was missing.
"Wait, where have Travis and his family?" he asked.
"They have been taken by those intruders too," said Veggie, "I don't know why but…"
"As soon as they had taken away all the caged macaws and the cockatoo family," explained Esperanza, wincing from her scratched side, "We were released from our cages and our cages taken away. However, we could not go after those intruders under the threat of getting killed by the falcons as the group retreated."
"But as the six falcons threatened us," said Veggie, "I noticed that one of them had a look of remorse and sadness on its face, much like the look Catina had when she worked with Otis and the others. It gave us that same look as it followed its comrades to outside and it made me wonder…"
"Maybe that falcon doesn't agree with what her groupmates are doing?" asked Dash but then he moved onto the most important subject. "Anyway, that's not important. We need to alert Susan and Lucy, and Tulio right away."
"Why Tulio, Dad?" asked Esperanza.
"Because those macaws have been stolen by those thieves," said Dash.
"You saw our feathered friends get taken away?" asked Veggie.
"We were outside watching the whole thing," said Avellana, "And we caught a few glimpses of colour in some of those cages, including blue and turquoise."
Then dread hit Veggie as an idea of what occupation of Cazador and his gang's owners, especially based on Cazador's explanation of their plan, was entered his head.
"Those falcons and crows' owners are likely to be a gang of poachers like Catina and her former group and Nigel's former owners," he said.
"What?" asked Dash.
"Those falcons and crows' owners are likely to be poachers like the owners of Nigel and Catina and her former feline team," repeated Veggie in a louder voice for all to hear, "When we were locked in those cages in the attic, the lead falcon explained to us what his owners will be doing and how they are going to infiltrate the Sanctuary de Amazon…"
"What?" snapped James in disbelief.
"Wait, explain everything that falcon told you to us," said Dash. So Veggie did. He explained everything Cazador had told him and the others including the macaws and Travis and his family as much as he could. He told Dash how Cazador and his group's owners were going to disguise as ecologists to distract Tulio and his team and go about stealing as many of the Spix, Lear's and glaucous macaws as possible, and other important details. On the dogs' bed, Ginger listened and reacted in horror. When Veggie had finished explaining as much as he could to Dash, the male greyhound's mouth hung open in horror.
"Tulio DEFINITELY needs to be alerted then," he said seriously, "We can't let those poachers go ahead with those devious plans."
"But who will do that?" asked James. Dash shot a glare to his oldest son and second-born puppy. "You're with me James," he said firmly. James, at first, hesitated but then nodded in obedience. Then Dash chose Avellana to come with him and James and the chestnut-coloured dog joined his side. Then Daisy said, "Can I come, Dash?"
"No, Daisy," said Dash as he, Avellana and James prepared to leave for Tulio's Aviary. "We're going to Tulio's Aviary, and that place is strictly forbidden to cats. You stay here and help your father tend to your brother Broccoli and also Esperanza and help them treat their injuries."
Daisy was about to protest but then admitted defeat. Dash then shot Veggie, Broccoli, Collette, Esperanza and Danny and said, "We'll not be long. You lot stay here and try and treat your wounds and clean up some of this mess if you can."
Veggie and the others nodded and with that, the three greyhounds rushed off for the destroyed cat/dog flap. But before leaving, Dash said to Ginger, "We'll be right back. You get some rest."
Ginger nodded and said firmly, "You be careful."
But Dash, James and Avellana had already disappeared out of the hole in the door where the cat/dog flap once was.