Chapter 7
Back to the Start

Basil stepped into the courtyard outside Ratigan's lair. He was surprised to see Auburn sitting against the wall with his head bowed. Concerned, Basil ran to him.

"What happened?" he asked. "Why isn't Ginger with you?"

Auburn sighed. "She doesn't want me," he whispered. "She's got Ratigan now."

"What?!"

"Ratigan took her and gave her things fit for a queen to wear. She won't come back. She told me so. She looked into my eyes and told me I wasn't good enough for her."

"But he can't…"

"Oh he can. I assure you, he can." Auburn glared at Basil. "She's gone. That's it. You can go home now. You're better off there anyway."

"I can't go until she's safe."

"Don't you understand? She is safe! She's safe and happy with her new father. Your job is done. I don't have to betray my boss and you don't have to risk your neck. I can still be near my daughter and everyone-is-happy. Got it? He has her in a big room with red curtains and lace bed sheets. That's what I wanted for her. She's happy. I'm happy. We can all go one with our lives without…"

"Will you shut up!!" Basil snapped. Auburn looked at him, his eyes filled with tears he refused to let go.

"She's **fine**," he insisted.

"No she isn't, Auburn. I just saw her running through the secret tunnels wearing nothing but fancy undergarments. I would have had her here but she thought I was someone called Bert Feesley and ran off looking for you!"

Auburn leaned back against the wall. "So… the whole thing… was just a big act?"

Basil nodded. "Whatever she did it must have been an act. I assure you, dear fellow, she loves you more than anybody else in the world."

A faint, sad smile crept into Auburn's expression. He turned his face to the starlit sky as tears trickled down his cheeks. His eyes were closed. Basil tilted his head slightly, wondering, for it seemed the mouse might have been reading a silent prayer written in blood somewhere within the abyss of his very soul. Finally, Auburn spoke once more, though his voice was only a strangled whisper.

"Then… we have to find her."

"Indeed. And our best bet would be to start in the tunnels where I saw her last."

Auburn nodded, wiping his tears away with the sleeve of his jacket. He opened his mouth as if to say something more, but he was interrupted by the cry of a child's voice.

"DADDY!" Ginger yelled. "Daddy, I'm here! I love you!!"

Ginger ran into Auburn's arms, and the two held each other in a tight embrace.

"I didn't mean what I said, dad!" Ginger insisted, starting to cry. "Bert Feesley made me say it! He had a knife to me! Please, don't be angry… I love you, daddy!!!"

"Shh… that's all right, Ginger. Don't cry now, love. I know you didn't mean it. Basil told me everything."

"Then you're not mad at me?" Ginger looked up hopefully into her father's cloudy eyes.

"Not a bit, Ginger." He lifted the girl onto his lap. "How did you get here, anyway?"

"A beautiful lady showed me!" Ginger said excitedly. "A beautiful lady with fur the color of the moon! She had long fur on her tail, like me!"

"Was she a lady from the pub?" Basil asked. "What would a waitress know about Ratigan's secret tunnels?"

But Ginger shook her head. "No, she said she was one of daddy's friends. And you know what, dad? She knows our song!"

Auburn's eyes widened. "It… it couldn't be…" he murmured. "Who is it, Auburn?" Basil coaxed.

Auburn shook his head. "No, it couldn't be her. She's been dead since Ginger was a month old, if that." He winced, as if the memory still stood out sharply in his memory. "It must have been a new waitress from the pub, then. She might have heard me singing, or you, Ginger."

Again Ginger shook her head. "NO, she didn't! She said she wrote the song!! She sang me another verse, one you never taught me."

"Do you remember how it goes?"

Ginger furrowed her brow. "I think I could remember a bit…"

Just as she was about to begin singing, a net fell on the three of them from above. They turned to see Ratigan and Feesley grinning down at them.

"What a wonderful job you've done at capturing my enemy for me, Auburn!" Ratigan exclaimed. "It's too bad you had to lie to me before."

"B-but boss, I…"

"No need to explain, Auburn. I understand the bond between a parent and a child." His eyes glinted with a hellish light as he grinned down at his captors. "I remember well how that beautiful woman protested." He leaned down close to Auburn, who shrank back in fear. "Oh, she was a feisty one, she was! Too bad she wasn't smart enough to do as I ordered."

Auburn fought to keep back the rage that threatened to burst forth. He tightened his grip on Ginger and growled through clenched teeth, "What will you do to us?"

Ratigan chuckled. "Oh you **do** amuse me so, Auburn! Let me see… you brought me Basil. That's one good thing. But you also lied to me. Not a good thing." He took a small brass bell out of his pocket and played with the shining ringer inside it. "But then, you also have remained loyal to me despite my little… heh… game. There's two good things." Ratigan put the bell back into his pocket. "You've purchased your freedom with false wisdom. That can't last long with you, Auburn. Feesley, let them out."

Bert Feesley lifted part of the net to let Auburn and Ginger out. Basil, however, was caught. Ratigan looked thoughtfully at him.

"Well, Auburn, my faithful friend, what do you suppose should be done with this… fiend?"

Feesley piped up, "Feed him to the cat, gov'ner!"

Ratigan whirled around. "Did I ask you?!" he demanded. Startled, Feesley shook his head. "Good! Do not answer me unless I speak to you! Now, Auburn…"

Auburn looked at Basil. His dark eyes narrowed, then he looked away. "I don't care what you do with him, boss," he said, scooping Ginger into his arms. "Alive or dead, he's no use to us, is he? Now I'm going to take my daughter home, sir."

"Oh no! A decision first, Auburn! I insist!" Ratigan stood in front of the two mice, blocking their exit. Auburn sighed wearily.

"Lock him up, then. Let him suffer before he dies the failure that he is." Auburn met Basil's eyes with an icy glare before he turned to go.

Ratigan stepped aside to let them pass. "Well said, my faithful student. Well said indeed."