The standard disclaimer: I do not own the Happy Tree Friends; they are the property of Mondo Media. I own only my own characters and this story. Now here's chapter 19:

19 – MEETING WITH THE MOLE

Although she had sealed the entrance to her lair behind her Petunia could not be sure that she had not been seen going underground. While the massacre raged above she crouched behind the sealed entrance waiting to see if she would be found. For over an hour she stayed motionless, trying not to give herself away, while being overwhelmed by the most horrific sounds she had ever heard. Then suddenly she heard XL-Jack-3 bellow "Finish what you're doing and return to the field's perimeter for clean-up" followed by the thunder of a large number of running feet, and then the sounds of the blasters firing on the field. The heat from the guns flowed through her door and she had to retreat down her hole away from it. Then, receding sounds of retreat, followed by silence broken only by the occasional crackle of flames from above, then, after what seemed like an eternity, even the crackle of the flames died away and there was only silence from above. Even then Petunia didn't venture out. She stayed behind the entrance to her hole until well after when she knew the sun would have set.

Finally, when she had waited so long that she knew the sun would be down and the evening well advanced, she unsealed the front of the hole and looked out to see the scene of devastation that the Marauders had wrought. After gazing at it for what seemed like forever to her (but was actually only a few minutes) she turned around and went back down her hole.

All the way in the back of her underground lair she kept a communication station that operated on a secret signal. Because Petunia was more than just a resident of Metramegopolis with a taste for country living; she was actually an intelligence agent from the Animal City on the other side of the continent. She was not a spy against Metramegopolis however. Her actual target of observation was the Marauders. It had been decided by agents in both cities that the best place to observe the Marauders was at Metramegopolis since that was almost always the primary target of their attacks. Petunia was a member of this dual-city intelligence force that gathered information on Marauder activities. Her lair outside the city was also the place where she reported back to the Animal City whenever she needed to speak directly to her superior there as opposed to her colleagues in Metramegopolis.

As soon as she reached her station she activated the secure signal on which it transmitted and sent out the top "emergency" signal. The system came to life at once, and Petunia found herself facing a perfect hologram of the head of the Animal City Intelligence Network himself. His real name was unknown to most people, so he was simply known as "The Mole" to his underlings, which was appropriate as he was actually a mole. He affected a pose of being blind, even going so far as to wear dark glasses and carry a stick, although he actually wasn't blind. But the pose tended to distract people from suspecting that he was the most powerful intelligence agent in the world. His neighbors all thought he was an old but harmless eccentric. His glasses also obscured his face enough that most people didn't know what he really looked like. Petunia had never seen his face fully revealed.

"Sir!" Petunia gasped. She was not used to speaking to the Mole himself, but he gave her no time to recover.

"Agent PE, Report" said the Mole briskly.

"Uh, yes sir" Petunia said, trying to regain her balance, "Metramegopolis has taken off."

"We know" said the Mole, "our long-range sensors detected it, and Toothy sent us a briefing just before it happened."

"Oh" said Petunia, not sure what to make of this.

"What is your story agent PE?" asked the Mole.

Petunia immediately related everything she had seen that day.

"So you were left behind?" said the Mole.

"It was an accident" protested Petunia.

"No" said the Mole, "it's an opportunity. Now that Metramegopolis has flown away we have no operatives to track the Marauders right now. Yet we need to have an accurate idea of the position of their high-command at all times. It's vital to our survival that we not lose them."

"But how?" asked Petunia, "there are no animal Marauder spies, because there are no animal Marauders."

"Yes," said the Mole calmly, "so we've had to find some other way to trace their movements. It's a very dangerous assignment though so I won't order you to – ."

"I'll do it" said Petunia promptly.

"You don't even know what it is yet" said the Mole, "the chances of successfully doing what needs to be done and surviving are very small. I can send someone else."

"Anyone you send will have to be briefed first" said Petunia, "and it will take extra time to instruct them on everything they'd need to know about this area. I'm here. I know the situation. I can begin work as soon as you tell me what needs to be done."

The Mole thought about this for a brief moment.

"All right" he said, "but I'm going to have someone standing by ready to step in, just in case. You have your emergency teleporter on hand?"

"Yes."

"Keep it with you at all times from now on. Here's what we need you to do..."

(To Be Continued)

A/N - Ooh! Suspense! Just what does the Mole want Petunia to do? Find out more in the next installment, and don't forget to post a review!