The following morning Mungojerrie was up before anybody else, even Rumpleteazer. It was still dark outside and he could hear the rain had picked up and was now pounding on the roof of his den. An icy wind whistled past his nice warm home and when he opened the door it swirled in bringing a cloud of water with it that instantly chilled him to the bone. Shivering the tom slipped outside and ran as fast as he could across the Junkyard. Before he could do anything he needed to get some food. Then he could get started on his rescue.

It was an incredibly simple and he hoped effective plan for the day. He would steal the most valuable thing he could get his paws on and take it to Macavity claiming he'd happened to see it and thought it might be useful or something. Then when he was there he'd say he'd fallen out with the others Jellicles and wanted some time by himself and he'd ask if there was anything he could do for Macavity. If all went to plan then he'd be given the boring, easy job of feeding the prisoner. Then he'd just have to offer to do it every day so that Macavity's guards had more time to do other more important things. Hopefully his boss would just think he was being a creep so he'd be paid more and it wouldn't wouldn't occur to him to find anything suspicious.

In a narrow street just twenty minutes from home the calico tom stopped and glanced up and down the deserted, rain swept pavement. Satisfied that there were no humans watching him the cat crossed the road and jumped over a low wooden fence and into somebody's front garden. Trampling through some rather sad looking, pink flowers Mungojerrie arrived at the front door to the house and huddled under the porch to consider his next move. He was planning to steal some food here and then move on to find something to take to his boss, hopefully before the prisoner was given breakfast. Glancing up at the sky he reached the conclusion that he had maybe another hour or two left and would therefore need to hurry up.

With ease Mungojerrie jumped up at the door he was sheltering beside and pressed the bell with his paw. Then he ducked behind a large and very ugly plant pot shaped like a tortoise and waited for the owner of the house to open the door. It was the quickest and easiest way to get into the house without having to waste time looking for a chimney to climb down or an open window. "Who is it? What sort of person rings the bell at this time? Don't you know how early it is?", an angry voice ranted from inside the building and the front door was flung open by a man in blue striped pyjamas. He opened his mouth to shout at the early visitor but found nobody stood in front of him. Looking angry and confused the man lent out his door to look up and down the road, frowning when he couldn't see anybody.

Quick as a flash the thief crawled from his hiding place and slipped into the house while the man was still scowling out at the rain. Mungojerrie glanced around him and saw a large vase stood on the floor by the door. He jumped into it and crouched there very still waiting for the man to go away. "Bloody kids!" The owner of the house stormed past the hidden cat slamming the door loudly behind him and Mungojerrie heard him stamping up the stairs and complaining crossly to somebody upstairs about stupid practical jokes and how he would talk to the neighbours about their children's behaviour in the morning. Then everything was quiet.

Careful not to make a sound Mungojerrie climbed out of the vase and crossed the tiny hallway to the kitchen. The door was open so he slipped in and looked around. It seemed to be his lucky day because the humans had clearly had salmon for dinner the night before and hadn't thrown the leftovers away yet. There was still a good-sized portion of fish left on a plate on the table. With a smug grin the calico tom jumped onto the table and helped himself to the food. It wasn't the best salmon he'd ever eaten but it was passable and at least he hadn't had to search for it.

In a few minutes the plate was clean and Mungojerrie was quietly making his way back towards the exit. It was no problem for such an experienced burglar to press the door handle down by climbing on it and soon he was back outside in the rain jogging along the road towards a nicer area of town. There was a particular jewellery shop he had in mind where he had seen some very expensive items that would be just right for his plan. As he hurried along Mungojerrie went through his plan again in his head. It sounded good to him but what if something went wrong. He'd seen how Macavity dealt with people who betrayed him and it was not a pleasant memory. Am oi actually doin' the right fin'? Oi'm riskin' so much for somebody oi don't even know. Is it really worff it?, the tom though briefly but then he pictured the beautiful, little queen again and he knew even if it was a stupid, suicidal idea he was going to try and save her. Speeding up Mungojerrie rushed through the wet streets lost in thought about the stranger he was trying to save.

Outside a smart shop with green velvet cushions covered in glittering, sparkling jewellery in the window the tom stopped. He had watched this shop for long enough to know that any minute now the cleaner would open the door to sweep the shop before it opened later in the morning. From inside there was a clatter and a bored looking cleaner came out carrying a mop. Mungojerrie took his chance and dived inside.

Fifteen minutes later the calico thief emerged from the shop carrying a priceless gold necklace in a small bag. Easy, he thought as he casually strolled away down the street. So far his plan was going excellently.

When he got closer to Macavity's warehouse Mungojerrie slowed down and finally stopped. What was he going to say exactly? Suddenly he wished he'd thought it through more carefully. He couldn't let his boss suspect anything was amiss so the trick was to act naturally. If he rehearsed what he was going to say then it wouldn't sound genuine and if somebody caught him stood here it would look strange. Nervously the calico tom forced himself to walk forwards.

"What are you doing here?", a voice hissed from a narrow alley to his right making Mungojerrie jump. It was only just starting to get lighter so it took the tom a second to make out the shape of another cat in the shadows. "Lyssa sent me to find out."

"Oi've got sumfink for the boss," Mungojerrie said trying to look relaxed and calm.

"He's not expecting you or he would have let us know so what have you got for him?" A white and orange tom stalked towards Mungojerrie with his teeth bared and his claws out threateningly.

"Oi just 'appened ter see a necklace oi fought 'e might be able ter use for sumfink." Mungojerrie shrugged causally and took a few steps towards the warehouse door. "Can oi go in?"

The larger tom moved in front of him with a furious hiss to block the door. "Show me what's in the bag."

Rolling his eyes Mungojerrie tried not to sound too annoyed. "Oh come on, Aidan. Yer know me. It's 'ardly gonna be sumfink dangerous, is it?" When the other tom didn't move a muscle or relax Mungojerrie sighed and opened the bag taking out the necklace and handing it to the guard. "Happy now?" Hurry up, yer idiot, he thought crossly.

Aidan studied the jewellery for a second. "Stay here!" He disappeared inside with the necklace leaving Mungojerrie stood outside tapping his paw in annoyance and wishing he'd be a bit quicker.

How long can it take 'im? Woss 'e doin' anyway? Oi'm gonna kill 'im if 'e makes me late. It would be a disaster if the prisoner had already been fed by the time he got there. Then what was he supposed to do? He'd have to think of a whole new plan. Mungojerrie paced up and down nervously.

At that moment Aidan reappeared looking annoyed. "Lyssa says you can come in if I escort you to the boss and don't let you wander off. She's not happy that you just turned up and I don't think the boss will be either." The orange and white tom gave Mungojerrie an unpleasant smirk and threw the necklace back at him. "Follow me." He turned and stalked back inside not waiting to see if the calico tom was following.

Hurriedly Mungojerrie went after him and found himself once again in Macavity's headquarters with the creepy feeling of being watched. He could see some of Macavity's guards lounging at the far end of the room but none of them were looking his way. Aidan threw them a jealous look as if he wished he could join them and snapped at Mungojerrie to keep up. Not needing to be told twice the calico tom sped up and soon they were in the corridor leading to their boss' office. Together they stopped outside the door and the guard knocked loudly throwing Mungojerrie an angry glare.

"What is it?", Macavity's silky voice demanded from inside the room and they heard his claws tapping on the floor.

Aidan pushed the door open and stepped in. "Mungojerrie to see you, boss. He says he has something for you." When Macavity nodded the henchcat beckoned to the burglar to enter the room and left with a satisfied grin as he saw the angry expression on his boss' face.

"What do you want?", Macavity asked his employee coming slowly and menacingly closer.

"Oi nicked this because oi fought yer might 'ave a use for it. It's very valuable." Mungojerrie held out the jewellery he'd stolen hoping against hope it was good enough to stop Macavity from being angry about being disturbed. He waited anxiously while the Hidden Paw examined the gift closely.

"Well done. This might be useful for something." Don't be too enffusiastic, Mungojerrie thought. "You can go now." Macavity turned away and went back to looking at some papers on his desk.

At the door Mungojerrie stopped and turned back to look at his boss. "One more fin'...Oi fell out wiv somebody at the Junkyard and oi'm not in a rush ter get back. Is there anyfink oi can do 'ere?"

Macavity looked up at him with an icy glare. "Ask my guards if they have a job for you," he snapped and turned to the next page of his notes.

With a grin Mungojerrie turned and left the room almost walking straight into Aidan who was leaning against the door frame studying his claws intently. Quickly he wiped the grin off his face and replaced it with a neutral expression. "Got any jobs that need doin'?", he asked the other tom.

Aidan looked slowly up at him. "I'm sure we can think of something." Mungojerrie got the distinct impression he was trying to think of the most boring jobs he could come up with. "Tocho, got any jobs you don't want to do?", the orange and white tom suddenly called making Mungojerrie jump. He hadn't noticed the Abyssinian approaching.

Tocho came over to join them and lent against the wall beside Aidan briefly giving the other henchcat a friendly grin before turning to Mungojerrie. "What are you doing here again?", he asked looking at the calico tom like he was something disgusting he'd stepped in. Clearly he was in a bad mood about something because he was normally at least pleasant to him.

"He brought the boss something and now he wants to know if there's anything helpful for him to do around here," Aidan told his friend before Mungojerrie had a chance to answer.

Immediately the Abyssinian tom brightened up and stopped scowling. "Actually I do have a job or two for you. Dylana dumped them on me because she said she was busy. There's some blood that needs cleaning up and some rubbish that has to go outside and you can take the food to that stupid prisoner." Tocho looked pleased that he had given the boring tasks to somebody else. Turning to Aidan he asked, "Want to go out hunting?"

"Of course! Let's go." The two henchcats wandered off down the corridor leaving Mungojerrie stood by himself silently celebrating his good luck. "You know where everything is, don't you? The blood that needs clearing is downstairs. You can't miss it," Aidan called back over his shoulder and without waiting for an answer the two toms disappeared.

For a minute Mungojerrie stayed stood where he was looking after them. Oi've done it! So far so good. Now all oi 'ave ter do is make a good first impression, he thought feeling very pleased with himself. Tantomile had been right after all when she'd said he shouldn't give up. He made a mental note to thank his friend the next time he saw her. Quickly he set off along the corridor to the cupboard where he knew all the food supplies were kept because he'd frequently been asked to steal nicer food than the rats and mice that the henchcats caught. He'd feed the little queen first and then he'd get on with the other jobs. He picked some nice salmon and took it out of the cupboard. He was probably meant to give her the rats and mice but there was nobody around to notice. Glancing around Mungojerrie hurried back to the door he'd first seen the mysterious queen through and pushed it open. It wasn't locked because she was chained up anyway.

Inside the beautiful white queen was sat perfectly still with her back to the door. She was leaning against the wall for support and there were deep scratches running down her side that slowly dripped blood, staining her silky fur red. Large bruises covered most of her back and sides and she was covered in tiny cuts. The chain around her ankle had been shortened so she couldn't even take a few steps away from the wall and the window had been covered so there was no natural light in the room. At the sound of the door creaking the queen's ears flicked but she didn't get up or turn around to see who had come in. At the sound of somebody approaching her the white queen hunched her shoulders protectively and turned her head away to face the wall. A single tear ran down her cheek and dripped onto her scratched and bruised paw.

Mungojerrie moved slowly closer holding the fish out to her. He spoke to her in a kind, friendly voice trying to reassure her, "It's ok, oi'm just bringing yer food. 'ere eat this." He reached out to put the salmon down in front of her but the queen flinched like he'd hit her and moved away, looking up at him with wide, frightened eyes. "It's alright, oi won't 'urt yer," Mungojerrie said soothingly and move back a little. A look of confusion crossed the queen's face only to be replaced almost instantly with a blank stare. The tom had never felt so sorry for anyone in his life. It made him angry to see such a beautiful creature locked up and hurt and frightened and at that moment he almost felt like trying to free her and fight his way out the building. Of course he knew it would never work and was most likely to get them both killed so he just sat back and watched her eat. She nibbled very carefully at the food glancing nervously around her every few seconds and jumping if he moved or made the slightest noise.

Suddenly the door burst open with a crash making both Mungojerrie and the prisoner jump and a furious grey Persian queen stormed into the room, a thunderous look on her face. Instantly the white queen cowered against the wall and began to tremble uncontrollably. "I don't see what's so good about her," the dark grey queen hissed and stalked over to the prisoner pulling her round so she was facing her. She looked the younger queen up and down and then dropped her carelessly back onto the floor. "She not even that pretty. She's too thin and she doesn't look after her fur. There's blood on it." The Persian queen began to pace up and down frowning and throwing furious glares at the little white queen pressed against the wall.

"Mornin', Dylana. Sumfink the matter?," Mungojerrie asked her trying not to sound too angry about the interruption. He noticed a black and white tom had come to lean in the doorway probably because he'd heard slamming and angry voices.

"Yes actually, there is!", Dylana spat and whirled round to face the calico tom her teeth bared and her claws out. "I just found out what he was doing with that little...that little...," she couldn't think of anything rude enough to say, "with her yesterday." She pointed accusingly at the terrified white queen who shuddered and looked away.

"By 'im oi assume yer mean Aurélien or yer wouldn't be so angry and oi don't really want ter hear about wot 'e were doin' wiv 'er," Mungojerrie said hurriedly. For Dylana to be so angry there was only one thing her mate could have been doing and he really didn't want to hear all about it.

"Kaboom!", the tom in the doorway suggested animatedly a big grin spreading across his face.

"No, Rico! Now be quiet." Dylana paced in circles. "What does she have that I don't have?", she demanded crossly glaring at the two toms, "I'm much prettier than her and much more intelligent."

Mungojerrie shrugged and Rico just pulled out a knife and began to toss it in the air and catch it again.

"I mean even if he was just bored I still don't see what he'd see in her. She's just so average and she's scared of everything." To prove her point the Persian queen swiped a paw at the other queen who shied away from her with a look of fear. "See! She doesn't have anything I don't have so why would he do that? It's not fair!" She stamped her paw furiously. "I'm way better than her!"

It occurred to Mungojerrie that if he let Dylana go on like this she would work herself up and end up hurting the poor queen. He decided it was better to stop her now and get her out the room before something happened. "Don't let 'er bovver yer, Dylana. Yer know 'e luvs yer. She's not worff it. If yer like oi'll look after 'er from now on so the uvvers don't 'ave ter do anyfink wiv 'er," he offered.

"That's a good idea. You do that." Dylana stuck her nose in the air and dramatically flounced from the room with a superior look on her face.

Mungojerrie followed closing the door behind him. He wanted to stay longer but had to be sure the Persian queen went away. Rico had already got bored and wandered off somewhere. As Dylana headed down the stairs Mungojerrie went off to do his other jobs with a big grin on his face. He'd just been told to look after the prisoner so he'd get to see her again. Everything was going exactly to plan. Mungojerrie rushed through the other chores impatient to get home and think of his next move.