"Alright kits, what game do we wanna play? Maggy, you go first." Tear pointed at Magnolia, who had her paw raised in the air.
"Kick The Can!"
"No, that's too loud, we could attract a worker or Muldoon." Tear then pointed at Houston, with his paw also raised.
"Tag?"
"Too dangerous, 'specially with all the sharp scrap around. 'Sides, one of us could run into a worker and get took." He looked at Bibzie, who was looking around. "You got any ideas, Bibs?"
"Hmm? Oh, uh... Hide and Seek!" Tear nodded in approval. "It's quiet, not much running, and if we see anybody we're already hidden!"
"Alright! I like the idea, but what do the representatives think? Let's take a vote. If you wanna play Hide and Seek, meow." All four kittens meowed. "It's unanimous, let's play! Who wants to be it?"
"I do!" Houston's paw shot up and he had a big grin on his face. He went over to the shack and put his hands over his face and started counting down from 20. "Twenty, nineteen, eighteen, uh... Sawteen, sickteen..." He wasn't counting down quite right since he'd never gone to school, but it got the job done.
The other three kittens scattered when Houston started counting. Magnolia bolted to an old broken-down car, and hopped in the empty hood, Bibzie scooted herself into an old tire, and Tear went to the top of a junk heap and hid in a beaten-up trash can.
"Tree, two, one! Ready or not, here I come!" Houston ran out to the open, and looked around. He started running in Magnolia's direction, not knowing it was her direction, of course.
Meanwhile, back inside the shack, Isaac had finished his crossword, and started to dust his hat like he usually did after finishing his crossword. He brushed a paw against it, and blew all the dust off. He was about to put it back on his head when the door of the shack flew open, and Muldoon's voice boomed.
"I've got you now, Crawford!" The iron-hearted cop ducked into the shed and grabbed Isaac by the neck scruff, forcing Isaac to drop his hat and raise his paws in surrender.
"Muldoon, I-I swear we can talk this out! Be all civil-like, Y'know?" Isaac stammered.
"No more talking! You've been committing tax evasion for as long as your firstborn's been alive!"
Isaac gasped. "That is not true! Terrence is only 11."
Muldoon growled, and carried the golden cat out of the shack before placing him outside and handcuffing him. The cat leaned on his good leg, his bunk leg limp behind him. "Muldoon, can you at least get my cane?"
"You'll get one in prison, Crawford." Muldoon pushed the golden cat along, at least having the decency to let Isaac use him for support.
"What about my kittens? They'll be orphans!" Isaac's ears flopped in desperation.
Bibzie peeked out from her tire to see her father being arrested by Muldoon.
"We'll make sure they find good homes."
"They're not housebroken! The-they're junkyard kittens! They've never even heard-a an orphanage!"
Bibzie gasped. She had heard of an orphanage, from that time Tear had sneaked the kits into the cinema to see Annie. They sounded positively awful. I've gotta tell the others! Bibzie leaped out of her tire, and started to search the junkyard for her siblings. "Oh man, why did I suggest Hide n Seek?! I'm not gonna be able t' find any-a them!" She whispered to herself as she looked under scrap in desperation.
"Muldoon, please! You can't just take me away from them, they need me! Let me g-"
"NO! You've evaded me for far too long, Crawford, and now I've finally got you! Do you have any idea how much you've ruined my career?! How many times you've made me look like a fool in front-a the chief?! How many times I've had to go home to Charlie and my wife to tell them that I have to work overtime?! Do you have any conceiveable idea how much you've ruined my life?! I'll never let you go anymore! I've been too soft on you, well no more!"
Houston had heard Muldoon's outburst from behind a scrap heap. Gosh! Dad must be getting arrested! I gotta tell Tear, Maggy and Bibzie! Houston turned to run to find one of his siblings, unknowingly passing Bibzie on the other side of the scrap heap. He spotted the trash can on top of one of the larger scrap heaps. He knew that Tear always liked to hide there. He bolted up the scrap heaps to get to the trash can. He threw off the lid of the trash can.
"Goddamnit, you found me! How do you always-"
"We're not playing anymore Tear! Muldoon found Dad and he's being arrested!"
"Shit, really?! Well- I-"
Tear struggled to think of something when Magnolia and Bibzie ran up the heap.
"Tear! Tear! Dad's-" Magnolia shouted before Tear cut her off.
"I know! I'm trying t' think a sum'n!" Tear rubbed his temples.
"That's not even the worst part! If any of the cops find us, they'll take us t'- t'-" Bibzie choked on her words.
"What? What is it Bibs, spit it out!" Tear snapped.
Tears balanced on the rusty kitten's eyes. "They'll take us t' an orphanage!" The other three kittens all gasped.
"No... We're not gonna be taken t' an orphanage if I have anythin' t' say about it!" Tear hopped out of the trashcan. "Y'all know we can't fight the police, and if they find us we'll be taken away, yeah?" The kits nodded. "So what we're gonna do is we're gonna hide out until they forget about us, which'll be about a week from now. Follow me!" Tear waved the kittens down from the scrap heap, and to an old oil barrel jammed into the side of it. The kittens all climbed inside to reveal a den of sorts, hollowed out from the scrap. "We'll hide out here for now. I'll think of a plan for food later."