Easily in time, the two Rescue Rangers aircraft landed close to the walls of the Versailles Palace near a hole well hidden from human views in which an armadillo was standing and waiting. He left his place when he saw who had come with the strangers in their strange contraptions.
"Ah, good to see that you didn't reconsider, Todd. And welcome back, Miss Mayfield," Armando greeted the two mouse musicians who got off the Rangerplane. "You need my help with your computer, Todd?"
Todd appreciated any help when he had to move his PDA through the alleyways in the walls and floors of the palace. Those paths were not at all made for pushing or pulling a cart on them due to a lot of stairs and steps on the way, and he often even had to carry the PDA on its stand. But before he was able to reply, Melissa handed Armando her instrument case. "Take care of my violin, please, while I'm helping Todd. Oh, and by the way, Armando, it's Melissa. It's always been Melissa."
"Uh... sure, whatever you say... Melissa."
Todd stood and watched, his hands already on the handle end of the PDA stand, as Melissa grabbed and heaved up the other end. He knew he should have expected that idea of hers, because back when he was a regular member of the orchestra, when the two happened to meet at the small animal backstage entrance, she used to help him without him even asking. But there was no way for him to comprehend why she helped him, also because she always carried the heavy end with the wheels where the PDA had its battery, and yet she always kept smiling at him, although it meant she had to walk backwards.
"Ready, Todd?" she asked.
"Yeah, ready," he confirmed and hoisted up his end.
"Well, Armando," Melissa said then, "go ahead, we'll follow you."
Todd gave the visitors from the East Coast a nod. With the PDA in his hands, he was unable to wave. "And thanks for flying us here, Rescue Rangers. You'll be there tonight to see the show? 8 pm?"
"We will, Todd," Chip promised. He avoided mentioning the case as long as Melissa and Armando were within earshot. "See you tonight, and good luck with the rehearsals!"
Todd could still hardly believe that he had met the Rescue Rangers. As he entered the small animals' part of the huge building, he heard the sound of the Rangerplane's clockwork drive and the Rangerwing's two propellers. Yes, he was sure that they would keep their promise and attend the show. And then he would help them on the case which led them to his hometown.
The alleyways were brightly lit by hundreds, if not thousands of LEDs. Sometimes, the walls resembled galleries with all the posters and photographs and rodent newspaper clippings of past performances and their performers. Of course, many of these exhibits reminded the beholder of the glorious times of Las Vegas' greatest animal music revue ever, the Chipmunk Divine. Todd had seen them a hundred times whenever he went to the rehearsals and the performances, he had watched their number grow, but he had gotten used to it. After the recent half-year hiatus, though, he realized how impressive they actually were. He also realized that there would never have been a Chipmunk Divine without him, for his electronic sounds and sequences had an immense influence on the show. He had been told that the mixture of an orchestra and synthesizer sounds were one of the main reasons why so incredibly many animals had wanted to see the Chipmunk Divine, and why the critics praised it. The singer might have been the heart and soul of the show, but he, Todd, the white mouse who was born to be abused, tortured, or even killed, but saved by as much a nerd as he was himself, he was the show's very brain. It did make sense to him, after all, the show was impossible to be continued after he had quit. The closer he came to the theater where the rehearsals were held, the more songs he remembered he had arranged or even composed together with his boss whose name he didn't dare to say.
Finally, Melissa and Todd stepped through the large backstage door which Armando held open. They were under a human theater now. When the small animals' theater had been built, all measures possible had been taken to acoustically insulate the two halls from each other so that no audience could hear the respectively other performance. In a particular way, Todd felt like coming home. The stage—a show like the Chipmunk Divine involved the orchestra too much to hide the musicians away in an orchestra pit—, the lights, the big hall in front of the stage, everything was like he remembered it. He did feel a bit uneasy about how the other musicians would react upon his return. After all, they had reason enough to hold a grudge against him for killing their show. But to his surprise they didn't. They were even happy to have back the mouse who held the show together, and who made it so special and unique.
Being the last two musicians to return, Melissa and especially Todd received many welcomes from the whole orchestra. Armando had indeed managed to get all members back, for they all had stayed in Las Vegas and anticipated a comeback of the Chipmunk Divine, at least as long as there was no news of Todd leaving the city. With Melissa's help, he brought the portable computer to its usual place on a slightly raised platform behind the orchestra which was an idea of his boss. He connected the device to the stage box and gave a thumb up to Jim, the black rat who sat behind the custom-built mixing desk on a side of the stage, unseen by the audience, between the slightly modified earpieces of a discarded pair of human hi-fi headphones which served as monitor speakers. Jim gave two thumbs up back, and Todd booted the PDA and launched the virtual instrument software. Sparkling synthetic sounds came from the monitor speakers as he began to play, sounds which even nobody in the orchestra had ever heard him play before.
Todd noticed how the entire orchestra stared at him with eyes and mouths wide open. "Upgrade," he explained with a faint smile. "I used my time outside the orchestra to get new software and program some new sounds."
"It sounds beautiful," Melissa said and returned his smile.
"Indeed, so it does," a female voice spoke behind Todd. He turned and saw her again. Even in plain street clothing such as the dark purple shirt and blue jeans this chipmunk lady looked gorgeous. "Welcome back to the Destiny Unlimited Orchestra! I see you didn't abandon music entirely. And it's sure nice to have you back here with us."
She walked up to him and stood next to him, taking a glance at the virtual synthesizer program with the two manuals. "You're not gonna bail out before tonight?" she asked silently enough to not let anyone but Todd hear it.
"No, I'll stay. At least for this show."
"Well, you know the deal. You keep your promise and play the Chipmunk Divine, I keep my promise and help your friends. Will they be here tonight?"
"They said so, yes."
"Good." Very good for her, actually. She couldn't wait to perform for her two very special chipmunk guests, somehow like she had sung for them almost 25 years ago in New York City, but much, much more professional. "Alright," she lifted her voice, "we've got a lot to rehearse and little time." She went to her center stage place. "Let's go through the set-list from the beginning. Ready, Todd?"
"Ready." A motion of his hand on the touch screen later, a certain, well-known rhythm sounded quietly from the speakers.
Outside, at a distance from the palace, the Rescue Rangers had parked their air fleet and were on their way back to their makeshift headquarters hidden in the bushes. "So there's a li'l family reunion goin' on, huh?" Monty commented on the recent news.
"Yeah," Dale said, "good thing I brought my Double-O super agent suit!"
"It's better than that ridiculous blue and red striped thing," Chip gave his opinion.
"Hey, Foxy loves that suit!"
"Oh, does she?"
"Yes, she does!" Foxglove answered.
Chip cleared his throat. "Anyhow, we'd better be cautious. Who knows how much havoc two of these brothers can wreak?"
"What if Rat Capone is here, too," Gadget asked, "and Allan doesn't know yet?"
"I doubt that Rat Capone even knows about the gems, let alone where to find them. Although I must admit that he might well love to get them into his greedy hands."
"Uh, Chip," Tammy said, "I believe someone else does know about the gems and that they're here."
Chip stopped, looked where Tammy pointed, and discovered an unusually big pawprint of feline origin. "Okay, so they've got some big cats here in Las Vegas, probably to keep our likes away from the hotels. That doesn't have to mean Fat Cat's here."
"Big c-c-c-cats?" Monty turned pale immediately. "Chipper me lad, fer this time I 'ope it is Fat Cat."
"It might well be him," LaWahini said. "After all, he tried to steal one of the stones, so why shouldn't he be after all of them now?"
Chip gave LaWahini's words a thorough thinking. She did have a point. Fat Cat knew about at least that one diamond which his lackeys would almost have managed to steal if LaWahini hadn't been faster. And the whole exhibition wasn't exactly a secret. The only question remaining was how he could have found out where the gems had gone, to which city, and into which building?
Dale's voice pulled the emergency brakes of his train of thoughts. "Chip!" he heard his friend yell from a few feet ahead where the headquarters were. He, Monty, Tammy, and LaWahini who had stood around the pawprint rushed to where the cry came from.
Like their teammates did before, they found their headquarters devastated. All three tents were torn down, equipment was spilled all over the ground, and some of the bags everyone had brought had been opened and emptied. On top of all that, the same huge pawprints could be seen all around.
"Chip, have a look at this," Chip heard Gadget say. As he turned to her, he saw her hold an empty candy bar wrapper.
"Are you still so sure this is all just a coincidence?" LaWahini asked him.
No, he wasn't. There was no safe proof, but more than enough evidence. The pawprints on the ground were too similar to those of the feline gangster boss, the wrapper was Mole's signature, and the camp was messed up. Fat Cat and his gang were in town more likely than not. And if they were, they knew of the Rangers' presence as well as roughly where the gems were. As if that hadn't been enough, Francis and his two minions were around, too, according to Allan.
"Zipper, patrol the area and see if Fat Cat is there or Francis or any of their goons," Chip commanded, and the green fly saluted and flew away. "The rest of us pack our things up and into the Rangerplane. We need to be ready to take off anytime."
"Shall I help Zipper with the air patrol?" Foxglove asked.
"No, we need your keen hearing here, Foxy," Chip replied.
"Um, Chip, where shall we sleep tonight?" Tammy wanted to know, briefly glancing at the remains of the girls' tent which Gadget and LaWahini were disassembling.
"To be honest," Chip answered, "I'm not sure if we'll find any sleep tonight. In fact, it'd be the best if we got the gems back tonight, it's safer than at daytime, and I'd like to get it done as soon as possible. Remember that your dad wants us to retrieve the gems and return them to the museum quickly."
"Then we'd better 'ave a nap before we see the show," Monty suggested. "After all, we're three hours be'ind New York City."
"Right," Tammy added, "by the time a show starts here, a Broadway show ends. And if we need to stay up all night..."
"Point taken, Tammy and Monty," Chip said, agreeing. "When Zipper is back, we'll fly somewhere that's safe and take a bit of sleep so we're fresh for both the show and whatever might happen tonight."
In the meantime, Zipper examined the park around the palace quickly but thoroughly. In addition to his speed, his size or lack thereof helped him stay unnoticed by anyone. He knew that if either of the crooks was around, that one would have one of his goons watch out for the Rangers or any other unwanted trespassers. in the other hand, he also knew what dimwits they both had as goons, and that he might have to land on their very noses to have them notice him.
He checked trees, hedges, bushes, walls, practically everything which rose up from the ground high enough to provide a hiding. But neither gang was there to be found. So he continued his patrol in the palace itself and especially at the casino rooms. He figured that at least Fat Cat might be in there. After all, the chubby feline had both a weakness for glamorous, Las Vegas-style gambling and a casino of his own. So even if he might not be able to join the games, he might still let the atmosphere inspire him.
The doors were opened and closed often enough for Zipper to slip inside quickly. But since it was early afternoon, there weren't so many gamblers frequenting the tables and slot machines. This made searching for unwanted visitors easier, especially those with fur and criminal pasts. Zipper looked everywhere that would be suitable as a hiding for someone as massive as Fat Cat, but also wherever someone as small as Francis could hide. The presence of the latter was rather improbable, but not to be excluded entirely.
However, even close examination of several gambling saloons, bar rooms, restaurants, kitchens, and the two big theaters didn't reveal the whereabouts of either crook or any of their henchmen. 'They might have gone sight-seeing or finding a hideout elsewhere,' Zipper thought. 'And even if they are here, they should know that it'd be a stupid idea to attack us when we're expecting an attack.' With the whole place most likely being clear as the only news, he flew back to the other Rangers who were waiting by the two loaded aircraft.
"I'm glad yer back safe, pally," Monty said. He knew that Zipper could keep and, if necessary, get himself out of a lot of trouble, but not out of all sorts of trouble. The memories of his little friend's encounter with Ribit for example were still present after so many years.
"Have you seen anyone?" Chip asked.
Zipper shook his head and reported that the park as well as what parts of the palace he could access were devoid of any known baddies.
"Good. So now that we're complete again, let's go and find a safer place than down here."
"What'd be safe enough?" Monty wondered. "Out in the desert?"
"No," Chip answered, "that's not what I'd call safety. No, we need to stay close to the palace in case the alarm goes off."
"Don't you think that Fat Cat's gang can pull off such a heist without triggering the alarm?" LaWahini asked. "After all, they tried it yesterday."
"No way!" the five original Rangers plus Tammy said in unison. Gadget added, "Even if you had let them, they wouldn't have succeeded. And this place has got a way better security system, the gems are locked away in a high-tech vault, not to mention it's broad daylight. Which of course doesn't mean they'd shy away from trying."
"And what about..." Sparky tried to remember the name of the former spy rat.
"Francis?" Chip said. "He's just here to make sure that the stones aren't stolen by anyone."
Dale slipped out of Foxglove's gentle embrace. "Yeah, but a Double-O super spy can take on 'em anytime." He took a sort of super agent stance and pretended to hold Gadget's miniature plunger gun.
Monty slapped his back so hard that he almost fell over. "An' so can the Rescue Rangers, right, Dale lad?"
Dale barely managed to keep the balance. "Right, Monty!" In his mind, he added, 'But they're not as cool.'