Part 11
Cori, Admetus and Tugger stared as Munk was flung into some cans. They hurriedly backed away from the angry tom that had flung him. Munk pushed a can off of his head and saw Alonzo glaring daggers at him.
"Don't. You. Dare touch me!" the Italian yelled with fury. "Don't… don't even come near me you bastard! Any of you!"
"Alonzo", Cori began.
"Shut up!" Alonzo yelled. "Don't call me that, don't you ever call me that! You have no right to call me that! You stay the hell away from me!"
Munk had by now gotten into a sitting position and was staring at the furious tom across the room. Alonzo looked livid, but his eyes spoke of another feeling… sadness. Munk carefully got up and noticed Admetus slowly move towards Alonzo.
"Don't even think about it Admetus", Alonzo growled and started to pull things out of the shelf again. Admetus pulled back and first looked from Alonzo to Munk and then back. The black and white tom had flung him… pretty far. Cori quietly moved over to Munk and helped him up from all the tin cans and Tugger joined in. Admetus kept an eye on them and at times Alonzo. You could almost see the tension in the room, it was thicker than feeling that you could cut it with a knife… it was horrible. Alonzo was cursing under his breath, in Italian of course, while he worked on emptying a tool box. It was too heavy to move any other way. Admetus sighed and moved over and helped him emptying the toolbox.
"We looked everywhere for you", he said and Alonzo just scoffed and turned away from him. "Skimble must've looked everywhere for you."
"Apparently not since he didn't find me", Alonzo spat angrily and threw a hammer aside. "If he had searched everywhere he would've found me a long time ago."
"Okay what's your problem", Tugger asked and stalked over. "You were taken and we couldn't find you so we guessed you were gone forever. So why are you mad at us?"
"Because your grownups chose a Jellicle over a street rat!" Alonzo yelled angrily. "Sure I wasn't one of you and that was made clear to me. So let's get out of here and then you return to the junkyard and I'll go find some hole to hide in until I die! I'm just a street rat after all." Munk walked over slowly and put a paw on Alonzo's arm.
"Don't touch me", the Italian spat and pulled his arm away.
"Alonzo", Munk said sadly. "Please… we had no idea you were alive and-"
"Stop it", Alonzo spat and closed his eyes. "Just stop it please." He looked at the Jellicles. "When I came to this country I only had my mama and she was taken from me on these shores. Skimble found me and made me part of a new family… a family that chose someone that had been born into that family and let a kitten abuser and crazy tom get away with me, without trying to stop him. Then the kitnapper gets to keep me, but gets killed, I roam the streets trying to find my way back but no one in this stupid country wants to help me, no one. So I'm forced to give up, forced to fight for food with my life at stake while you all live safe and sound in that junkyard paradise of yours. I only get talked to when someone needs something from me, I'm a tracker, I've killed… tell me how many cats have you had to kill just to survive?"
The four toms looked at each other.
"I guessed as much", Alonzo spat. "I've killed more cats than you will in a life time and for what? For food, for shelter… for water… to save myself. I only stay in this country to help kittens and friends that are in similar situations that I was in. So let's get out of here so I can return to my pointless life and you can return to your safe little haven that is the Jellicle junkyard!"
No one moved… but then Munk walked up to Alonzo… and hugged him. Alonzo was so shocked he didn't know how to react. He could feel the tears threaten to fall, Munk had been his best friend… he had been searching for Munk since the day he was taken… and now that he'd found him he could just feel anger. He felt anger and betrayal. But then he felt and heard Munkustrap sobbing and instinctively he put his arms around the other tom, but still had a scowl on his face. The others also looked sad and one by one they joined into the hug.
"I'm so sorry Lonz", Munk sobbed. "We never meant to abandon you and make you think we stopped looking… but… but London is big and we were so small. But we didn't stop Zo… we kept looking. We look when we leave the yard and we ask cats walking through if they have seen you. We pray to the Everlasting cat that we'll find you… we just never knew you'd find us first."
"Well technically it was Jerrie and Teazer who found him", Admetus piped up and all toms laughed at that, even Alonzo.
"Skimble's been hurting something awful and he blames himself…" Munk mumbled. "Just like Safir, Jenny, Jelly and Gus does… and Edan did. Edan never stopped looking for you and dad says that's what killed him in the end."
Alonzo bowed his head and sighed.
"I'm sorry I got so mad", he mumbled. "I just-"
"We get it", Tugger of all cats said. "You felt abandon by us and yes to a point we did abandon you, we could've looked harder… could've reached out for help beyond the junkyard and we could've checked shelters. EC knows some of us get thrown in there more than others."
"We also should've seen the connection earlier", Cori piped up. "A black and white tom that speaks Italian… it can't bet that many of them in London. We should've recognized you when you got to the yard… why we didn't is beyond me."
"It isn't really", Munk said and the group hug ended. "When we met Alonzo the last time he was-"
"A scared, confused and healing kitten that had no idea what was being said around him", Alonzo finished. Munk smirked.
"I was gonna say smaller and cuter", he said and Alonzo snorted.
"As if", he said. "I am regarded handsome by queens and toms thank you very much."
"Yeah you have muscled up", Admetus pointed out. "Gotten bigger and… well streetier."
"Is that even a word", Tugger asked.
"The point is", Munk said and turned to Alonzo. "We're sorry we weren't there for you when you needed it most. But we are here for you now… if you let us. And something tells me that… even though it seems like you're not… you are really there for us too. Right?"
Alonzo shook his head, but he was smiling.
"Can't put anything can I Munk", he asked and Munk grinned and hugged him again.
"Let's get out of here", Admetus said. "I'm starting to get claustrophobic."
"Try sleeping in a close box for a while", Alonzo teased as he, Tugger and Munk pulled the toolbox aside. "Then we can talk about claustrophobia."
Admetus grumbled something and soon the shelf was empty and Alonzo had been right… there was a vent behind it. They went in one by one, first Alonzo, then Munk, then Tugger, Cori and lastly Ad.
They got out of the building with not that much of an effort and they only had to take out a couple of guards, they meaning Munk and Alonzo. The other three noticed how well the two of them worked together. They were the perfect team. Both of them were strong and smart and cunning. At one point there had been a guard and Alonzo had grabbed Munk's hind-paws and lowered him behind the guard. Munk put his paws over the guars mouth and eyes and Alonzo pulled both of them into the vent and the guard got knocked out and left there. Another time Alonzo just dropped down onto a guard and rendered him unconscious and Munk pushed a guard down a manhole. Tugger thought the duo was hilarious, Admetus thought they were perfect and Cori thought they were crazy. But out they got and not even Macavity noticed how five toms just walked out of his hideout and left his territory… to return home.
"Everyone will be so happy", Cori said happily as they walked. "Not only to see Munk but Alonzo as well… if they realize it's you."
"Probably will if you say my name", Alonzo said calmly as he walked beside Munk, helping him walk. The silver tabby was starting to get tired.
"Why are you called the Italian", Admetus asked as they got closer to the junkyard. "Is it because you only speak Italian?"
"Do I only speak Italian?"
"To anyone but us", Tugger said.
"True… I guess that's why."
They walked into the yard and Munk was welcomed back with hugs and nuzzling and happy greetings. When the rescue party told them they couldn't have done it without Alonzo it dawned on all the cats that had known the black and white Italian kitten. Skimble wasn't the first to hug him. To everyone's shock it was Bomba, why? Well she blamed herself for everything that happened, for letting herself get caught like that. Alonzo forgave her and all of the cats that asked for his forgiveness. Skimble hugged him the hardest and the longest and Alonzo actually cried then, Skimble was like a father to him after all. The only one that didn't hug him, who just watched from the shadows was the Jellicle leader. But later he did welcome Alonzo back to the Jellicles and Alonzo and Munk became the closest of friends again… and you all know how it ends.
The End