Chapter 4: Deals

The driver of the armored van was relieved when he saw Kirby and Muldoon remove their police car and finally allowed him to drive off the yard and get the remaining diamonds away. He started the engine and set the vehicle in motion, unaware of his three rodent passengers.

"Are we rolling, Francis?" one of the rats wondered.

"No, stupid, that's an earthquake," Francis answered. "Of course we're rolling!" 'Why can't stereotypical dumb henchmen be nothing more than a cliché?' "You two know what to do, Louie and Moe?"

"Err... no."

"Alright, once more. You open the hatch," Francis pointed to a manhole in the bottom of the cargo compartment, "and I take a look where we are. When I give you the sign, you push the black box through the hole down onto the street, and then we get off the car."

Slowly, the armored van squeezed itself through the dense Manhattan traffic. Much faster, Francis climbed up one of the rear doors to the window and watched the surroundings pass by while his two henchmen unlocked and opened the hatch. "Okay, it's open," Moe shouted as this was accomplished.

"Now get the cargo in position. We'll soon be there."

"Huh?"

"Push the box with the gems to the hole in the floor!" Francis turned back to his view of the street. 'Why can't at least one of them have at least a bit of intelligence? Maybe I should hire a lizard like my brother Rupert did.' To be sure that his gang did the right thing, he changed his mind and watched them push the box—only to leap off the door and run in front of the container seconds later to push against it. Half a second later, and he and the box would have found themselves on the street.

"To the hole, you dimwits, not through the hole! Stop pushing!"

"But didn't you say..."

"I said to the hole. Not through the hole, not into the hole. Got it now?"

"Um..."

"Just don't push it any further unless I say so. Got this at least?"

The two rats nodded.

"Good. I go on watching out."

A few streets further, the van stopped once more. Unnoticed by the humans, three rats suddenly came from below it, two of them carrying a black box, crossed the street and the sidewalk and disappeared through a hole in a wooden wall covering a free space where a building had been demolished some weeks ago. Another rat hid behind a public trash can and watched them from a distance. This rat wore a brown suit, a brown coat, and a plaid cap, but otherwise, he looked like the only one of the three rats who didn't help carry the box.

"Lo and behold, if that's not my big brother Francis. I expected you to come and pull this thing off. I only wanted to be sure. Now I am, you little crook. Makes me wonder why I'm the only one in our family who's honest."

After a few minutes, the three rats slipped through the hole again. Francis was fuming. "One is missing? One is missing?! How should we have known that someone is actually able to steal that thing and get it outta the building without being seen, let alone caught? I supposed they just tried to snag it and triggered the alarm or so!"

"We could've taken a look into the box," Louie proposed.

"Shut up!" Francis didn't want to admit that his goon was right. "That wouldn't have brought the gem back," he said as he and his gang walked past the place where his brother hid. "And now we shall bring it back. Heck, all we know is that it's not there. It could be anywhere by now."

"Didn't the human say that no human would've been able to steal it?" Moe recalled.

"He said that, yes. And that he believes that only a spider could've taken it." He stopped. "Or a rodent with the right equipment. I believe we should take a closer look at our local animal underground."

"Do you think your brother's behind this?"

"No, Louie, not really. Lizard's not nimble enough, Mousenegger even less, and an army of mouse slaves... nah, can't imagine how he'd pull that off with complete rookies and without being noticed. But there's one gangster in this city... one who would—and could—go such a long way, take such an effort, just to obtain a glittering diamond he'd then simply show off."

"You mean..."

"Yes. Let's pay the old Happy Tom plant a visit."

The three rats went on along their way, unaware of being watched by Francis' little brother who still hid behind the trash can. "So they need to find one of the diamonds? That buys me some time to get the help I need."

He made sure his brother and his gang wouldn't see him if they happened to turn around. Then he left his hiding and headed for Central Park.

In the meantime, the number of Rescue Rangers at the Metropolitan Squirrel Squad Headquarters increased. LaWahini was led into the room in which the five original Rangers and Foxglove were waiting for whatever was going to happen to them.

Although she had anticipated her arrival, Gadget was far less than pleased to see her sister. "Whom do we have here? I thought you swore you'd be good."

"What I did," LaWahini said as an apology, "I did in good intentions."

"How can someone steal a diamond in good intentions?" Chip was unable to comprehend.

"Because if I hadn't stolen it," LaWahini explained, "Fat Cat would. That is, two of his goons, to be more precise."

"Fat Cat?"

"I heard him talk with his gang about this theft before. And I saw some of them enter the building before I went inside."

"Why should we believe you?" Chip asked in mistrust.

"First, what should a mouse like me need a diamond as big as a walnut for? I could hardly hide it."

"Right," Gadget confirmed, "that's a point. This diamond is way too large to be used as a part of a glass cutter. And it's not appropriately shaped either."

"Second," LaWahini continued, "for what reason should I turn bad again? Have you noticed any hints that told you I'm not happy with my new life?"

Gadget shook her head.

"But if Fat Cat was after it, too," Dale expressed his remaining doubts, "what would he need it for?"

"Ol' tabby needs no practical use fer a gem," Monty explained. "If it's shiny, expensive, an' if 'e can show it off at 'is place an' elsewhere, it's a must-'ave fer 'im. Remember our first case?"

Chip did remember. "The Clutchcoin Ruby, right... For Klordane and Nimnul, it was the most important part of an oversized ice slicer. But for Fat Cat, it was shiny jewelry. Bling-bling, as they say nowadays. Chief Chesnutt, if we promise to bring it back to its owner, will you let us go?"

"I'm afraid I don't have any other choice," Chief Derek Chesnutt said. "Who else than you can do that? The MSS has no experience in such operations, let alone the appropriate equipment, both of which the Rescue Rangers have."

"So we're free?" Dale could hardly await his liberation and jumped up.

"That you are," Chief Chesnutt declared. "But remember that you're on a case now, and we expect you to solve it."

Chip was the next to get up. "Alright, then Gadget and I will go and collect the Rangerwing, and we'll all fly home, plan how to bring the diamond back, and gather the necessary equipment."

"Oh, there's something more," Chief Chesnutt added. "We'd like to know about your plans as soon as they're completed. You don't want to be arrested once more, do you?"

An animal hideout entirely different from the MSS Headquarters, built into a giant cat figure on top of an old factory building, saw a couple of visitors, and these visitors came earlier than usual. As Francis, Louie and Moe entered the place which hosted a casino among other facilities, they encountered another rat and a lizard who were busy cleaning the saloon.

"Hey," Wart shouted, "the casssino isss clozzzed!"

"Yeah," Snout said, "come back later if you wanna gamble! Or can't you wait?"

"We're not here for gambling," Francis answered. "We're here only to receive our prize. Immediately. Is your boss in?"

"Fat Cat? Sure here's in, but you can't..." Snout spoke no more when he noticed that the three rats had disappeared into the alleyway which led to Fat Cat's office.

The feline gangster boss sat in his chair, the backrest turned towards the door, and pondered the inability of his goons when he heard the door open. "Can't you knock?"

When he moved himself around to see who dared disturb him, he saw three rats in hats and trench coats. "Aw, c'mon, this is ridiculous," he commented the sight. "Who are you that you've got to re-enact the 40s?"

"My name is Francis," the rat in the middle replied.

"Francis? Francis what?"

"Just simply Francis. And these are Louie and Moe."

"And why are you and your... friends stealing my precious time, 'Francis?'"

Instead of answering Fat Cat's question, Francis asked briefly but firmly, "Where's my diamond?"

"Your diamond? Excuse me, but what are you talking about?"

"The diamond from the Clutchcoin Collection that was displayed at the gallery not far from here until recently."

Fat Cat took scolding his goons for allowing witnesses into consideration. "And, just out of curiosity, what do you think makes it 'your' diamond?" He figured he didn't have to lie about the gem.

"Why should I tell you?"

"I'm a cat. You're a rat." Fat Cat stood up in front of Francis, being more than twice as tall as him, and lifted him up by his tail. "Reason enough?"

"R-reason enough, without a doubt. Okay, we've got the other 13 gems, the entire collection, with the exception of one."

"And what do you think I've got to do with it?"

"C'mon. Who else got a team that could pull this off?"

Fat Cat tossed the rat away like out of disgust. He should be honored, but he felt that his gang wasn't worth so much praise. "Who else, you ask? The Rescue Rangers. That blond tinkerer mouse, to be more precise. I found out she was there. She or her wicked twin. If anyone's got that diamond, it's them. I don't have it."

Francis got up and grabbed his hat which he lost when he hit the ground. "The Rescue Rangers? Right..." He remembered something years ago. A chipmunk in a white tuxedo crammed with all kinds of gizmos who believed he was a super spy. A gorgeous blond mouse in a red dress. And a great defeat when the Rangers used the weapon the professor tried to steal with his help. "Where can I find them?"

"To be honest, I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"If I knew where to find them, they wouldn't exist anymore. All I know is that their place is somewhere in a park in this city. Most probably here in Manhattan. Now move. I bet your time is as precious as mine."

"No clue?"

"Move, I said!!"

"Okay, okay, guess we'd better go now," Francis said as he moved himself backward towards the door and motioned his goons to follow him.

Fat Cat faked a smile. "I'd appreciate that."

As the three uninvited guests were gone, he started to wonder since when the Rangers were thieves themselves. But soon, he had a great idea. "Why should I want one gem if I can have fourteen of them? They shouldn't be too hard to snag from a bunch of rats or whatever animals this bloke commands except these two."

Immediately after the three rats had left the cat statue, a loud call went through its rooms and halls. The caller had some experience with how long he had to wait until only those who were allowed to hear him shout were inside. "Wart! Snout! Mepps! Mole! Come here! Now!"

The four goons obeyed their master's call and quit doing whatever kept them busy, if anything.