INTO THE CAT'S MOUTH

One had to admire Gadget's preparedness, one really did. One thing was for her to wear a parachute under her jumpsuit 24/7, but it was something completely different for her to keep a change of wardrobe for the entire team, inside both planes, for emergencies such as this one. Thus, their formal attire would not be damaged in any way during the rescue, and, they realised, Gadget had total faith in the team's ability to rescue their friend and so was completely convinced that they would eventually wear their formal attire again and proceed with the ceremony. Not to mention that they didn't waste time going back to the tree to retrieve their everyday wardrobe; they only needed to duck under some foliage to "arm" themselves, and then quickly board their craft and be on their way.

It was a warm May night just past the full moon; a night they otherwise would have enjoyed. However, a single thought coursed through their minds this night, and that was to save their friend. Again, no words were spoken. In this manner, and with the Ranger Plane going at full speed, they arrived soon enough at their destination: the statue atop the Happy Tom Cat Food Factory.

The decision to use the Ranger Plane had been a good one, for now they could forego landing in what might have been plain sight in favour of perching on the wall just beneath the surface of the roof, thanks to the two plungers it used for landing gear. With stealthy springs (except for Zipper, for whom such tactics were unnecessary) the Rangers were on the roof itself, with Gadget leading the way with her weapon at the ready, and Monty close behind with his sleeves rolled up. And without Dale to show off his heroics with no thought whatsoever by charging straight in right there and then, things appeared to be going smoothly.

They slowly made their way to the entrance to Fat Cat's headquarters, located at the base of the head of the cat statue. They stopped just outside the small opening and looked at one another in silence. They knew there was probably a trap inside waiting for them, but did not want to give themselves away by speaking.

After this fleeting exchange of glances, they entered to meet their fate.

Once inside the statue's head, they found it very dark indeed. There was some faint illumination filtering through the narrow neck from the body, but even to rodent eyes it proved of very little use in seeing their surroundings. They knew, of course, that it was toward those lights that they needed to go; it was the place where the kingpin of feline crime held court, as they had been there before. But the darkness and silence of the place, combined with the perilous situation in which they knew their innocent friend was, gave them all an especially sombre feeling.

It seemed that this time their arch-nemesis intended to settle matters once and for all.

Despite the small amount of information provided by two of their senses, a third told them loudly and clearly of the danger they were in.

"Guys," Gadget whispered, "I can smell them! They're in here!"

"Stay close to the wall, guys," replied Chip. "And don't make any sudden movements!"

Slowly, they moved to the wall on their right, still headed for the faint lights.

"Can you see 'er, mates?" asked Monty.

"No, I don—"

A horrified gasp shot through Gadget's throat.

There, for all to see, not too plainly, however, was a bat suspended motionlessly between the floor and the ceiling…

…hanging from a long, thin rope.

Horror ripped through the Rangers' hearts at that sight. Chip could not bring himself to think what he would tell Dale, or what would have happened if he had been here to see this. Speechless, the four of them walked toward the hanging shape. A closer inspection brought welcome gasps of relief when they saw that the rope was not around the bat's neck. Instead, it bound the wings together, rendering it momentarily flightless.

"Looks like she's out cold, I hope," whispered Chip. "Guys, they're in here, all right, but I don't think they've seen, smelt, nor heard us. They would have been all over us by now. Gadget, can you snap the rope with the plunger?"

"Sure thing, Chip. Guys, get ready to catch her and run for your lives!"

The males thus quietly padded under the unconscious bat, while the mousemaid raised her plunger harpoon, drew a bead on where she calculated was the weakest point of the thin rope, and fired. The plunger snapped the rope, and the bat fell down. Chip and Monty caught her without a sound, but they suddenly gasped.

It wasn't Foxglove.

It was a rag dummy!

Before anyone could do anything, something fell on top of them, something elastic. Then, it was pulled up from under them, knocking them off their feet. And almost as suddenly as they felt the net tighten around them, they were lifted off the floor and suspended in the air as wicked laughter assaulted their ears.

"Well boys, what did I tell you?" the familiar voice cooed in triumph, "The simpler the plan, the greater its chances of success!"

Then, the Rangers found themselves being carried into the body of the cat statue, including Zipper, as the mesh was too small for even him to fly through. Another light switched on, and they all could clearly see Fat Cat holding them in the net with his right paw, and grabbing an unconscious Foxglove with his left.