Chapter 5: On a Mission
Back in Basil's flat, Basil finished ranting about Ratigan, he went into his bedroom and shut the door. In his room, he started to sing a song.
How long must this go on?
The cruel trick of fate?
I simply made one careless wrong decision
And then that wretched rat was gone
And left me in this state:
An object of revulsion and derision.
Thunder quieted down as he went on,
Hated.
Is there no one
Who can show me
How to win the world's forgiveness?
…
An hour later, Basil left his room, feeling better. Thunder continued to roll, lighting up an article next to Basil's portrait of Ratigan. It read: RATIGAN ELUDES POLICE!
"This case is most intriguing with its multiplicity of elements," Basil mused as he paced back and forth in the living room. "Its many twists and turns." He turned to Olivia, Andrew, and Clover. "Now, you're certain you've told me everything?" He pointed his pipe at them. "The slightest detail may be important."
"It's just as we said," Olivia explained, "And then our father was gone."
Basil placed the pipe in his mouth, smoking it.
"What do you make of it?" Dawson inquired.
Basil took his pipe out of his mouth and muttered, "Ratigan's up to something." He went upstairs and Olivia and her siblings went after him. "A crime of the most sinister nature, no doubt." He didn't see the siblings walk behind him as he continued his thoughts. "The question is...What would he want with a toymaker?" He continued to smoke his pipe to help him think.
Just as Andrew, Clover, and Olivia were about to follow him, lightning struck again as they watched a bat who hung upside down through the window, grinning at the trio. It was the bat who kidnapped Olivia's father. Clover and Andrew glared at Fidget as thunder struck and Clover, Andrew, and Olivia let out a terrified scream, alerting Basil.
Their scream frightened the bat and he fell until he was out of sight.
"Quickly, Dawson!" Basil said as he opened the front door, where they entered before. "We've not a moment to lose!" He sprinted outside with Dawson following close behind him.
"I-I-I'm right behind you Basil!" stuttered Dawson.
As Basil and Dawson went outside, Olivia, Andrew, and Clover went over to Mrs. Judson for comfort.
Once outside, Basil was disappointed to see Fidget gone.
"No sign of the blackguard anywhere," Dawson said, adjusting his coat.
"Not quite, Dawson," corrected Basil as he got on his knees and hands to see a trail of footprints. "He left some rather unusual footprints." The footprints were muddy. "They obviously belong to the same fiend who kidnapped the girls' and boy's father. Ratigan's peg-legged lackey."
Dawson picked up a cap. "Uh, Basil?"
Seeing the piece of evidence in the doctor's hand, Basil snatched it from him. "A-ha!" Basil exclaimed. He examined it with his magnifying glass. "Excellent work, old man!" He chortled and rushed to the house, with Dawson following him.
"Now, there's nothing to be afraid of, my dears," Mrs. Judson assured as she patted the little girl's head.
At the sound of footsteps, Clover stepped stepped out of the way, holding Andrew protectively, while Mrs. Judson pulled Olivia away, so that Basil could sprint through as he held the peg legged bat's hat as evidence, much to the landlady's annoyance for nearly running over the trio.
"Hey! Watch it!" Clover reprimanded Basil.
"Yeah, what's the big idea?" Andrew demanded.
The last person who came in was Dawson. "The scoundrel's quite gone."
"Ah-ah-ah!" Basil said, holding a finger in the air as he held onto Fidget's hat and took off his robe. "But not for long, Mr. and Miss Flamhammer!"
"FLAVERSHAM!" Olivia, Clover, and Andrew snapped indignantly for mispronouncing their surname when their father was gone.
"Whatever," Basil said.
"Now." Basil thrust his robe somewhere and seized his brown waistcoat from a grandfather clock, putting it on. "We simply pursue our peg-legged friend until he leads us to the girl's and boy's father."
This changed their mood and Olivia asked with joy before hopping on him for a hug, "Then you'll get our daddy back?"
"Yes," Basil gasped as if she was squeezing him too hard, much to my amusement. He gave Olivia a "get off me" look as he slunk her down to the floor. "And quite soon, if I'm not quite mistaken." Basil fixed his tie as Olivia smiled up at him, relieved he was going to help save their father.
Andrew and Clover started to put on their coats, hats, and scarves.
"Now, hurry along Dawson!" Basil said as he grabbed onto his inverness brown coat from the mouse shining armor and put it on. "We must be off to...Toby's."
"Toby's?" Dawson asked.
Basil buttoned his coat. "Oh, you must meet him." He took his deerstalker hat that matched the color of his coat from the mouse armor helmet and set it on his head. "He's just the chap for this."
"You...Y-Y-You want me to come?" Dawson asked, touched by his offer.
"Ha." Basil blew on his magnifying glass and wiped it with his sleeve. "I should think a stout-hearted army mouse like you would leap at the chance for adventure." He playfully poked Dawson in the stomach with his magnifying glass.
Dawson chuckled. "Oh, well, I-I-I am rather curious."
Clover went to talk to Dawson, knowing that finding their father was just as important as stopping Ratigan and about her past experiences with her younger siblings. Dawson nodded to show he was listening.
"Our mother was killed by crooks, who worked for Jax, my ex-boyfriend, but my brother, sister, and I can't lose our father, too," Clover said.
"I'm sorry about your mother," Dawson said, "But you and your siblings managed just fine. By all rights, you and your siblings should be part of the case."
"Wait for us!" Olivia exclaimed, grabbing onto her hat, which was stuck to Basil's violin. "We're coming, too!" She snatched onto her tam-o-shanter, making the violin jiggle as it nearly hit the floor.
Luckily, Basil was able to catch his prized possession in time. "What? Certainly not." He set his violin back on his red chair. "This is no business for children."
"Are we going to take a cab?" Olivia asked innocently and curiously, wondering why he'd leave them.
"That'd be good for a rescue mission," Andrew said as they both took a handful of cheese crumpets with them and put them in each of their pockets.
Basil rubbed his temples and calmly explained, "My dears." He took each of them by the hands. "I don't think you understand."
"Uh, Basil, your violin," Andrew warned, pointing at the violin behind the detective.
"It will be quite dangerous." Without warning, the detective sat on his own violin, making the strings twang and he gasped.
"See? I tried to warn you," Andrew said and facepalmed, adding, "Too late!"
Olivia glanced at Basil worriedly.
Basil groaned as he got off his broken violin. "Why you? Look what-"
"That wasn't our fault!" Andrew told him, "You broke it yourself."
Basil tensed and sharply took a breath to compose himself and did his best to control his rage. "Young lady and young man!" he said in a strangely sweet voice and harshly added haughtily, "You are most definitely NOT accompanying us! And that is FINAL!" With that, he childishly stomped around.
Andrew and Olivia flinched, but Andrew remained undaunted. This was their father they were talking about. "Basil, enough! You're being immature and rude when you're the one who broke it! That's not nice and it doesn't solve anything!" Andrew scolded, defending himself and his little sister.
"Not nice and doesn't solve anything?"
"Yeah!" To Olivia, Andrew asked gently, "Are you okay, Olivia? Did that mean monster scare you?"
Olivia nodded.
"He did? Come here." Andrew hugged her. "We'll find our dad, I promise."
Hearing this, Clover said to Dawson, "I think we should have a compromise with Basil."
"I agree," replied Dawson and he and Clover went to confront Basil.
"Basil, don't speak to my siblings like that when you're the one who broke it!" Clover admonished, "We can't stay here with our father in danger."
"So what?" Basil said with snarkiness, "Andrew and Olivia aren't in a school for immature children in case you didn't notice, even though you and Dawson treat them that way half the time." He was jealous because Clover and Dawson treated Olivia and Andrew better than Basil had.
This one hit a nerve on poor Andrew and Olivia, making them mad. "RUDE!" they admonished the mean detective.
"Dawson and I are careful on what we say to them because if we aren't, they could snap, hurt themselves and others," Clover said sternly, "That's why our job is talking, not yelling."
Dawson smiled, impressed with Clover's assertiveness.
"Just think of it as helping the elderly at a nursing home," Andrew said, "And don't talk about me and Olivia like that in terms of immature children. You're that way for saying it. So be aware of that." He crossed his arms.
Basil's eyes widened with surprise by the thirteen-year-old's shrewdness. "Smart lad. You're clever for someone your age."
But Andrew wasn't finished because it was time for the detective to listen to his sad story. "Ever since I was three, I lived in an orphanage and no one wanted to adopt me until a toymaker came along to bring me home."
Basil backed away, feeling helpless at the young man's tale, realizing he upset him and Olivia.
"Andrew, I'm so sorry to hear that," Dawson sympathized, "But I'm glad you got adopted by the kindhearted toymaker and your adopted mother and sisters accepted you. You were lucky to have him and your adopted mother and sisters."
Andrew nodded sheepishly.
"So, if you won't help us find our father, while you're out there, trying to catch Ratigan for yourself, then I can take them with me and we'll find our daddy ourselves," Clover warned, "Or my friend, Eve can help us."
"But she's a bat and you're a mouse."
"It doesn't matter. I'm eighteen years old. She's a nice bat, unlike the one who frightened us earlier. He could come back to capture me, Olivia, and Andrew in case Mrs. Judson doesn't keep an eye on us because he already knows where we are. He could hurt her just so he could take us away, as well. So, like it or not, we're the key to finding our father."
"That's right, Basil," Dawson told Basil, "She told me what her qualifications were by her experience."
"For example, when the crooks killed our mother, Andrew, Olivia, and I had to go into hiding and now, our father is the only one we have left. So, we can't lose another relative."
Dawson scowled at the detective and Mrs. Judson did the same.
"If you don't let Andrew, Olivia, and Clover join your case, I'm going to destroy your chemistry set or break the remains of your violin!" Mrs. Judson threatened.
Basil cringed at the landlady's ultimatum. He turned to Clover and said, "Alright, Clover, but I warn you that Andrew and Olivia are your responsibilities."
"You have my word."
"Done." The two shook hands.
He led the way to Sherlock Holmes' flat, but little did they know that Eve was outside and snuck inside Sherlock's home.