Percy was in the execution room, dusting off the electric chair. When finished, he said to Paul, "Mr. Jingles is a fine mouse."
"He sure is," Paul commented.
"I feel bad for stepping on that poor mouse." Percy hung his head in guilt at the memory.
"You didn't mean it. Del has already forgiven you. Now you know that next time, you can break off crackers, bread, or something into crumbs."
Brutal wanted to make a joke as an attempt to cheer Percy up, "I always keep a spare mouse in my wallet on occasions such as this."
"And John did help Mr. Jingles in the end," Paul continued.
Percy smiled ruefully and nodded.
"Anything you need to tell us, Percy?" Paul asked.
Percy looked at him funny. "What are you talking about?"
"You look bothered as if you're hiding something from us."
"I'm hiding nothing," Percy lied.
Paul, however, was not moved. "Percy, we can see it in your eyes that you are in pain and are bottling it up. So if you don't tell us now, it'll eat you alive. Your uncle the governor would say the same thing. Even your aunt. Everybody!"
"And it could go in your work record," Brutal added.
"Wild Bill reminded me of people who bullied me in the past," Percy said finally. "They started to beat me because I was small until one day, I've had enough, so I punched one of them in the face when he screamed in my face."
"Finally, we're getting somewhere," Brutal breathed, "Right, Paul?"
"Good job, Percy," Paul said, just as relieved as Brutal, "Glad you finally came around to tell us. That's why you were afraid of him at first and until you bravely hit him with a baton."
"He gave me a flashback real bad," Percy told him. "But I couldn't just let him kill Dean, so I fought back."
"That was nice of you to step up for him when no one else could," Brutal mused, referring to Dean.
Percy shook both of the men's hands with gratitude. Although Percy was relieved to get the hard part over with, something else hit him. "I'm going to miss Del," he said with a sad sigh.
"We all are," Paul said, feeling Percy's sadness. "But Mr. Jingles is in good hands with us."
"We can take him to Mouseville in Florida or take a trip there," Brutal offered.
"A circus sounds very nice for him," Percy agreed and he, Paul, and Brutal left the room.
…
That night in the execution room, Percy stood by "Old Sparky", where Del was sitting, being strapped and wired, with people watching from their chairs. "I hope he's good and scared," one woman whispered, "I hope he knows that fires are starting to sentence him to Satan's flames."
Del winced at those words.
"Del, don't listen to them," Percy told him gently, "They're just trying to scare you, but we're here for you."
"Del, it's all right," Paul assured Del.
"Roll on one!" Percy ordered.
In John's cell, John was petting Mr. Jingles as his way of comforting him. "You be still, Mr. Jingles," John whispered to the mouse, "You be so quiet and hold still."
Back in the death penalty room, Percy announced, "Eduard Delacroix, you've been condemned to die by a jury of your peers, your sentence implored by a judge of good standard in this state. Do you have anything to say before sentence is carried out?"
With a lump in his throat, Del said, "I'm sorry for what I… I'm sorry for what I do. I'd give anything to take it back… but I can't. God have mercy on me, peace with you… amen."
Paul gestured Harry to put the black hood over Del's head. "Don't forget about Mouseville," Del sobbed.
Paul smiled and nodded.
"Hey, Del," Percy said softly, "Don't worry. We'll take good care of Mr. Jingles and take a trip to Florida, so that he can do many good tricks there." Assured, Del gave him a small smile as Percy finished, "He'll do you proud." Percy walked over to a water bucket where the sponge was lying next to. He placed the sponge into the bucket and squeezed out some water, as long as the sponge was wet enough for the execution to go smoothly. Then, he went over to Del and put a wet sponge on top of his head. Del was a good friend, Percy thought. When he was done, he helped Harry screw the electricity source on Del's head and backed away, facing Del, announcing, "Eduard Delacroix, electricity shall now be passed through your body until you are dead, in accordance with state law, and God have mercy on your soul!"
To Mr. Van Hayes, Percy said, "Roll on two!"
The switch operator pulled the switch and Del's death was going to be quick, thanks to Percy, who cared enough to wet the sponge. Less than a minute or two later, Del was dead and his death went well.
"Good work, Percy for wetting the sponge," Paul praised.
"Thanks, but I miss him," Percy said.
"I know," Paul told him, "I miss him, too."
"Paul, you said so yourself that we're all going to miss him," Brutal reminded him.