"Keep wiggling it until you feel it pop" Rumpelteazer coached as Tugger moved his claw about in a jewelry-box lock. "We would usually teach you how to do it before going out on the job but given the circumstances..."
"I felt it" Tugger said in astonishment as he removed his claw. He pushed open the lid and looked down in amazement at all of the gems that kept inside. "Wow. It's going to be easy to get enough." He was about to dump the whole box into the sock when Rumpel grabbed his paw.
"Slow down" she advised. "We are looking for jewels and gold chains. He likes them. We can't take the whole box; the humans would notice it we cleaned them out. And we can't go next door either. It would raise suspicion. There' nothing Macavity likes more then having them blindsided."
"So we have to run all over London?"
"Pretty much" Mungojerrie said as he picked up a diamond ring. "Now in our case, we aren't looking for the best quality, we're looking for the heaviest. Although quality is a must with Macavity. And we need every second thing we steal to have a diamond in it somehow. Pick out something that you think will be right for him."
Tugger looked closely at them; he found a large pair of earrings, several stones hanging down from it like a web. "This?"
"Perfect" Teazer said as he dropped it in his sock. "Let's grab three more things and off to our next house. Try to avoid necklaces though; they're pretty light; unless they're pearls."
They each pulled something out and closed the lid with a click. Mungojerrie lead them back out the window, socks clutched in their mouths, and onto a nearby tree limb. They scaled down and walked a few blocks away, looking for a deserted house.
"I didn't know that there was so much you needed to know about stealing" Tugger said, trying to fill the silence.
"It's an art" Mungojerrie smiled as he spotted their next location. "Circle around Tugger, look for an opening and I'll meet you out back."
Tugger did as he was told and set off to the right, he looked at the dozen of windows but it was hopeless. Mungojerrie didn't have much luck either. "So, do we keep moving then?"
"If we were Rookies we would, but we have Teazer with us." Mungo nodded towards the Queen. She set her sock down and pushed an upside down flowerpot towards the door. She climbed on top of it and stretched herself out. Raising a claw, she slid it into the lock and began to fiddle with it.
"And Open Sesame" she cried as the door swung open. "Pass me my sock would you Love"
Jerrie smiled as he threw her sock up at her and laughed with Tugger as she fell back when she caught it. He happiy went up the stairs, the other two decided to go through the China cabinet.
"This isn't so bad" Tugger mumbled to himself as he rummaged through a box. He heard two screams as Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer ran past him, telling him to run aswell. "What's going on?"
"The Pollicle that lives here saw your mane when you went up the stairs" Mungo yelled, the Pollicle appearing behind them, barking loudly. "Now run unless you want to be eaten."
"What bout the jewels?"
"Leave them" Rumpel advised, before they jumped out the window.
Aside from that, Tugger began getting the hang of thieving. He was nowhere near as talented as Mungojerrie or Rumpelteazer but he could pull his own weight, and he was wishing that he weighed less. He noticed that with each house they visited the happier the two became. Mungo was rarely seen without a smile during the day and Rumpel began emitting some exotic beauty that he never experience before. Each of them was glowing, simply put, like the sun that was setting over the water as they were heading back towards the smell of fish. They entered the room; several cats were inside of it, as well as a large scale. Tugger put his sock on top of it with the others, barely any room for them to hold on to them anymore. A dark Tom marked the weight and showed it to Macavity, who nodded approvingly. The socks were removed and Teazer put in their place.
"There's more then enough for her to go free" the Tom stated.
"Is there enough for Tugger to leave instead?" Rumpel asked as she climbed off.
"It's possible" The Tom said. "You, get on there." Tugger reluctantly climbed up and tried to think light thoughts. "Yeah, you're free to go."
"Are you sure you don't want Rumpel to leave instead" Tugger asked as Mungo hugged her protectively.
"No... No, it's better this way. We'll stay together until we get enough for the both of us to leave. You aren't used to this kind of work; you belong back at the Junkyard" Rumpel said, speaking for Jerrie. "We'll see you there in a few days"
The Rum Tum Tugger looked at her for a few moments, once again he wasn't sure if it was a question or not. He smiled slightly and nodded to them. "I'll see you then."
"Tugger! Thank Bast you're alright" Bombalurina cried as she saw him enter the Junkyard. "We were so worried. We had no idea where you ran off to yesterday. I mean first Mungojerrie's gone and then Rumpelteazer leaves and you disappear. Munkustrap didn't know what to do. He was going to send out a Search and Rescue party-"
"Did he" Tugger asked as he hugged her tightly, hoping that it would calm her down.
"No he didn't. If you weren't back soon I was going to make him send one" she said as she nuzzled her face into his mane.
"Make sure that he doesn't" Tugger whispered into her ear. "Mungo and Rumpel don't want one. They want to work off their debt."
"How do you know? You didn't- you weren't- Did you go after Macavity?" She asked, taking her face away from his chest to look into his eyes.
"I figured that it's what Munk would have done. I worked off my imprisonment like they are right now." He explained in a soothing voice.
"How..."
"Our weight in jewels. They made sure that I got to go home first, and as soon as possible. I did pretty well; I made it out in only one day. Come on Bomb, it's late and we should let the others know." He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and steered her towards Munkustrap's box, where many of the older cats were currently keeping vigil.
"Three cats in one day Munkustrap" Jennyanydots' voice wafted through the walls. "It is no coincidence. We need to act now!"
"No we don't" Tugger said as he pushed himself inside. "It'll be a waste of time."
"Tugger you're back!"
"Don't tell me that you're still hooked up on that they're bad cats!"
"Are you alright?"
Tugger held up his paws to silence them all. "I'm fine, and no, I know that they aren't what I thought that they were."
"Are they alright" Demeter asked.
"They're fine Dem. They actually helped me get free. I worked it off with them."
"What? You were with them; and what do you mean by worked?"
"I followed Macavity and by worked I mean... I stole. My weight in jewels was my price for freedom. They need to get enough to free themselves now, and they want to do it by themselves."
"But they're alright" Munkustrap asked. Tugger nodded as he sighed. "Very well then. We'll just have to wait for them to come back. Until then, I suggest that we all go get some sleep."
A/N: Ugh, this is so short it makes me sick... It's either that or the pound of Hallowe'en candy I ate last night. Well there's only one more chapter left, then there will be another one up not too long after. I am working on a non Mungo/Rumpel fic (I know, it's hard to believe) but I'm trying to branch out.
Well, I do have bad news, Luke died yesterday. My gosh do I ever miss him, I found out when I was babysitting. Nathan told me when I was watching him, I was ready to cry. Luke was his cat and I'm not allowed to have one of my own so Luke was kind of mine too. He was the essence of Munkustrap. This gorgeous grey-on-grey tabby, he was always looking out the window. He was so affectionate too, I'd tell him that the Junkyard was safe and he'd jump in my lap and cuddle up. He'd always purr, unless I sang "Macavity", then he'd growl at me until I stopped. I wish I had a picture of him, I miss my Lukey... The Junkyard must be in an uproar right now...
Chimalmaht - I tried playing it loud, it wasn't quiet the same. It was nice though, but I had no one to dance with. Maybe next time my cousins are down we'll do that. I have two other concerts I want to go to right now; Natalie MacMaster featuring Leahy, and DRuM. I'm going to DRuM for sure, it's going to be so cool. Tugger's a theif now, he got that bad tom image down pat.
Jemima-luvah - I didn't even think about him being spotted with his mane, so I threw in that little bit just for you. I love going to Canada too, I do it everyday. I'll being going to the states (for the first time) during April, I'll let you know if I like it or not. I'm sure that it will be fine though. I suppose that we are rather suburbian up here, with our hockey and all... It is wierd that it wouldn't let you update right away... darn technology.
ecties - Chicka... you sound just like Debbie, she kept calling me that. I'll continue the work and I did read it in baby talk
She put that bottle to her head and pulled the trigger, and finally drank away his memory. Life is short, but this time it was bigger, then the strenght she had to get up off her knees. We had her with her face down in the pillow, clinging to her picture for dear life. We laid her next to him beneath the willow, and the angels sang a Whiskey Lullaby...