-TWO-

Plans

RJ stood on a chair amidst the other hedgies. On his head sat a captains hat that had a small hole chewed out, exposing his left ear. In his right hand was a stick like those used at a pool table, while his other hand counted those present.

"…Heather, Stella, Tiger. Good! Everyone's here, sans Verne. I'll bring him up to speed when he gets back."

"Oh! Oh! Pick me!"

RJ pointed the pole at a little orange squirrel waving his hand wildly. "Yes, Hammy?"

"Umm, ahh, you forgot to count RJ!"

RJ face-palmed. "Hammy, I'm pretty sure I'm still here."

"Oh, okay."

RJ continued. "This afternoon, I have a mission for all of us. This-" he pulled out a roll of paper and unfurled it. "—is our list of objectives." The hedgies oohed and aahed as they examined the sheet. Little pictures of various food items cut out from magazines and food ads were taped haphazardly all over the list.

"Oh! Oh!"

"Yes, Hammy?"

"What's that?" Hammy asked, pointing to a little scribble in the corner of the page.

"That, my dear Hamsquad, is a loofah. Verne asked for one, and since I couldn't find any pictures of one, I drew it."

"Ohhhh. Okay!"

"Now," RJ began, rolling up the page. "Thanks to the scouting efforts of Ozzie and Heather—" Heather smiled awkwardly as her dad made a huge, sweeping bow. "—we now know a single house where we can obtain everything on this list. Bucky! Spike! Quillo! The map!"

The three porcupines saluted and proceeded to spread out a large roll of construction paper over the log. The hedgies gathered around it as RJ leapt from his chair to the log. The map was drawn with crayons by RJ, and it roughly resembled the Wilkinson's backyard.

"Now because we're going to hit their house in the afternoon, all the Wilkinsons will be at work and school. So the main issue we will have is with their dog." RJ tapped the stick figure dog with his rod. "Thankfully, it's not a very bright dog. So as long as we keep him distracted, things should go smoothly.

"Verne, Hammy, and myself will do the main smuggling. Ozzie and Heather are going to be waiting just outside the back door. When we bring the food to you, you two will take it to Lou and Penny, who will be stationed at the hedge. Lou and Penny, when Ozman and Heather bring you the food, you will take it back to the log. Everyone got that so far?"

The hedgies nodded.

"Good. Now for the exciting part. Bucky, Spike, and Quillo, I'm counting on you three to keep that dog distracted. I don't care what you do, as long as it keeps Mr. Barks-a-lot from blowing our cover. And as long as it's within reason," he added, after a getting look from Penny.

"Sweeeeeet!" the trio chimed.

"Stella, if anything goes wrong, you know what to do."

"Oh, I am there!"

"Tiger, as much as I hate to say this, I think it's best if you sit this one out. Dogs and cats, well, you know, don't mix well, so-"

The Persian cat nodded once and struck a noble pose. "I understand. It is my sacred duty to await your safe return."

"Awesome. Well then, now that that's settled, we'll start as soon as Verne gets back."

Verne wore an anxious face as he walked back from his bath. Try as he might, he couldn't ignore his tingling tail, which was steadily getting worse. Even though he hated to admit it, he still couldn't bring himself to fully trust that raccoon. And he couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was about him either.

Maybe it was because he knew nothing about RJ's past life. Maybe it was the way that RJ hid his emotions and intentions, always giving an air of aloofness. Maybe it was the ease with which RJ explained things he knew nothing about essentially lying. Maybe it was the dream that haunted Verne every night and his intuition telling him something was amiss.

Or maybe a combination of all of the above, Verne thought. The turtle peeked through the hedge to see RJ balancing a rod in his left palm as the three porcupine kids looked on with amazement.

"…see? It's not that hard. You can use that as part of your distraction if you want."

"Awe-some!" Bucky, Spike, and Quillo clapped and tried it themselves.

"Verne, there you are. Everybody's waitin' fo you!"

Verne nearly jumped out of his shell, as the last voice had come from right behind him. Verne spun around to see a female skunk posed with her arms crossed, looking at him from under her bangs.

"Oh, Stella, it's you," he breathed with relief, turning to leave.

"Hang on a sec, hon. I know that look. What's eatin' atcha?"

"Oh, nothing, it's nothing."

Stella wasn't buying it. Verne sighed, glanced back at RJ, and decided it was best just to get straight to the point. "Can we trust RJ?"

Stella stared at him for a second, then snorted. "Ha! About as much as a dog in a field of fire hydrants!" She noticed Verne's solemn face and stopped laughing. "Sorry, bad analogy. Why do you ask? Is yo tail actin' up?"

Verne nodded. "That, and I keep having these dreams where RJ…and the way he seems to hide himself under the guise of cool carelessness…and we don't really know anything about his past…and-"Verne sighed. It all made sense in his head, but it wasn't coming out right. "—I just don't want our family hurt."

To his surprise, Stella's features had softened considerably, and as she placed her hand on his back, he could see concern written all over her face.

"Look, I know RJ was all con artist when he first came to us, but he was all alone in the world with a bear on his tail. I don't think he'd ever had a friend before, so I don't blame him fo tryin' to use us to save his neck."

Stella looked up thoughtfully. "Y'know, I think the reason he ended up riskin' his neck to save us was cuz we'd put so much trust in him. An' I think that's what he needs most from us now, is trust."

Verne gazed at Stella. "That was the most beautiful, profound thing I think I've ever heard you say. That really makes a lot of sense."

Stella blushed beneath her fur. "Aw, now you're makin' me blush!" she laughed. Then she added, "Y'know Verne, between you an' me, I don't think you have a thing to worry about with RJ. I bet he's the type that puts on airs to keep other from worryin', but underneath that mask, he's as sweet and soft as a baby kitten. I don't think he could hurt a fly, let alone his family. I'd follow that guy to the end of the earth!"

Verne knew this was true. All of them would follow RJ anywhere. Verne just hoped RJ was leading them all in the right direction.

"Ah! Verne, there you are! I was hoping you'd be back soon so-" RJ had come crashing through the bushes, but stopped when he noticed Stella standing close to Verne, her paws in his. A devious grin spread across his face. "Oops, I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

Stella bristled. "What kind of lady do you take me for, you little—"

"Woah, woah! Hey! I was only joking. Besides, we all know Verne couldn't win anything that big."

With a great commotion, Bucky, Spike and Quillo appeared on the scene, popping out of the bush next to RJ. "Alright! Verne's here! Now we can to the mission!"

"Mission?" Verne asked, his eyebrows raised.

"Yeah, like I was telling you earlier, remember? We're gonna get you a loofah. Hey kids, go rally the troops and let them know Captain RJ wants them in their places pronto!"

"Yeaaaaah!"

"Gangwaaaaaay!"

"Geronimo!"

"Wait, right now? What's the plan? Whose-" Verne didn't even finish his sentence before RJ dashed off with him in tow.

"No time now! I'll let you know as we go."