Calmness. Kitty came to appreciate this state over the last years more and more. Calmness meant no changes. The time stands still when calmness embraces you. And now that Dudley or Scratch or however you want to call him stepped back on the stage of her life the plot of this theater play had gained an enormous pace. It almost rushed around here and she felt incapable keeping this pace.

But sometimes it was possible to take the speed out of this all, even though just for a short moment. Always when she walked at the harbor such a moment has come. Especially when the scenery was so beautiful like it was today. The sun was sending its last rays over the ocean coloring the water with a soft warm orange which fuses at the horizon line with the sky´s strong orange. A view that makes you smile, no matter how your mood is.

Kitty closed her eyes and enjoyed warmth of the sun on her face. The cold weather of the last weeks had hidden the sun for too long under thick clouds. And although this day wasn´t warm it had at least a clear sky.

Smiling she took a deep breath of the salty sea air and breathed it out forming her feelings into one word. "Perfect."
"So I chose a good location for our date?" asked the white dog beside her she was holding hands with.

Kitty had to laugh, she knew that Stan had asked Dudley where he should go with her. "Yeah, YOU chose perfectly."
She didn´t see Stan´s face in that moment but she could bet that it had this mission accomplished smile on it.

"The sun is really wonderful…" sighed Stan calmly. "I mean I lived in this city for a long time but I never realized that it was so…"
"Wonderful?" asked Kitty smiling and opened her eyes.

"Exactly." Giggled Stan. "You can´t read my mind, can you?"
Of course Kitty couldn´t but she felt that she and Stan were somehow on the same wavelength. He was sensitive, funny and a real gentleman. Qualities that were rare among men as Kitty had realized. Also, they shared something you could call a hard past. His wife killed herself and left him with a child and she was heavily depressed and suicidal.

Not the same fates of course but they felt somehow connected. That her past was Dudley´s fault she left away as she told it. She generally said nothing about the whole Scratch Dudley story to Stan. Kitty thought that Dudley should be who tells him that.

"I wish I had this ability." Meant Kitty.
"Yeah, think of all the possibilities! You could win every poker game."
"Not because of that. If I had this ability, I maybe could fully understand why people do the things they do."

"What do you mean?" Stan turned away from the sun and towards her.
Kitty did the same so they stood face to face holding hands. "I mean things like terror attacks, murders… such things. I mean what drives the people to do these things?"
"Sometimes money, sometimes greed, sometimes injured pride… but do you think that you would understand it just because you know it? I mean maybe you know the motive but don´t understand it from your point of view how something like injured pride can drive someone to do something like that."

"So everything is dependent from the point of view, huh? I can´t really agree with that."
"Of course not. From your point of view you can´t agree." Stan laughed loud and Kitty joined his laughter.

"Kitty" Stan started with a soft voice after it got quiet again. "I really enjoy this… I haven´t felt like that since my wife died." His head sank down and sadness conquered his face. "I mean I haven´t…"
"Shhh…" interrupted him Kitty by pressing her index finger on his lips. "Just enjoy the moment Stan."

There was it suddenly, one of these magic moments where everything was perfect. The atmosphere, the mood and the people. All these three factors were fulfilled and so it happened. A kiss. A modest shy little kiss that flared up the flames of passion. Another kiss followed, less reserved now. And from there it didn´t took much longer until their kisses were long expressions of passion.

"Wow…" breathed Stan as they moved apart. "That was…"
"Wonderful." Laughed Kitty also heavily breathing.
"You read my mind ag…" Stan stopped in midsentence. A third breathing sound joined their breaths.

Kitty and Stan turned surprised around just to see Scratch who gazed at them.
"Oh hey Dudley." Meant Stan waving his hand friendly. But Scratch didn´t answer. He just kept on staring with eyes that just brought fear to everyone who looked at them. They seemed to radiate hate and anger.

"Why Stan, why?" whispered Dudley.
"Uhm… what do you mean?" Stan was confused. "Something wrong?"
"There was something wrong with you, all the time… And I haven´t realized it. Was it because I was to blind or because I wasn´t there?"

"I still don´t know…"
"I KNOW IT STAN, EVERYTHING." Scratch shouted at his brother. "I KNEW WHAT YOU´VE DONE! I KNOW ABOUT MR. WONDERFUL!"

The smile Stan wore all the time vanished from his face. "From where do you know that?"
"White told it to me."
"I should have never trusted this idiot…" Stan shook his head. "He took a picture of me, right?"
"Wait, what does that mean?" Kitty asked who understood nothing.

"You know that you can´t get away with this, Stan." Scratch said ignoring Kitty´s question.
"Oh, I will get away with this…" Stan meant and pulled his gun out of his jacket. He pointed with it directly on Kitty´s forehead. "Or you will be occupied the next hours with scratching Kitty´s brain from the ground."

Scratch answered Stan´s threat with an action. He also drew his gun and fired it immediately at the hand with that Stan holding his gun. A loud scream followed the gun´s bang and Stan sank on his knees holding his right hand.

"You damn asshole!" cursed the hurt mutt. "You will…"
Scratch grabbed Stan by the throat and lifted him on his knees again. "No, you will pay." Another time Scratch used his gun shot it at Stan´s knee.

"You have destroyed my life!" screamed he so loud that he drowned the screams of his brother. "What have I done to you to deserve this! Answer me." Again Scratch started shooting but his time on Stan´s other knee.

"I didn´t want to…" Stan couldn´t end this sentence because Scratch fired at his leg again.
"Don´t give me that shit." said the bald head dog and shot again. "You knew what will happen! You helped with the massacre! You could have at least warned us!" With the aid of his gun Scratch beat into his brother´s face. "Mom could be alive! 270 other people could be alive! Give me a reason Stan not to treat you like the others! Give me a reason not to kill you!"

"I am your brother." cried Stan in fear.
"That is no reason!" Scratch let off his brother. Stan couldn´t stand on his shot legs so he fell to the ground where he breathed heavily. Coldly took Scratch his gun and aimed at Stan´s head. "Just one reason." He whispered.

"It was for Jenny." Meant Stan spitting blood. "She was sick… I needed money."
"WHY HAVEN´T YOU ASK FOR IT THEN?" Scratch shouted. "I had given you all my money Stan. Everything."
"That would have never been enough…" breathed Stan. "I had to do something… or she would have died… I never knew that… I was just providing him with a gun I couldn´t realize that…"

"I said don´t come up with this shit!" screamed Scratch again.
"Dudley, please!"
"I´m sorry Stan." Sighed Scratch cocking his gun.

Kitty watched the whole scene in disbelieve. She couldn´t really realize what was happening there. She was somehow paralyzed through her confusion and disbelieve. But now as she saw that Scratch had thrown his brother to the ground and pointing with the gun at his head her she had regained her agility. She picked up Stan´s gun that lay beside her and ran to Scratch.

"Stop it!" she screamed and raised the gun.
"No…" replied Scratch and turned around. "He was part of the massacre. I have to do this."
"No you don´t have to do this. You´ve done enough!"

"Can´t you understand, Kitty?!" Asked Scratch angrily. "He was part of that! It´s also his fault what happened! I can´t let him go away!"
"And I can´t let you do this!" she shouted and also cocked her gun.

"Then do it!" Scratch grabbed the barrel of her gun and pressed it at his forehead. "Stop me, pull the trigger. It´s over then! You got rid of me. Or don´t you have the guts? Come on, shoot me! Shoot me! SHOOT ME!"

"Dudley, what…" Kitty stared in disbelieve at Scratch. What was just happening?
"SHOOT ME!" he screamed. "THEN THIS IS FINALLY OVER! THIS WHOLE MADNESS IS OVER THEN. DO ME ONE FAVOR AND SHOOT ME! I WANT THIS TO STOP! PLEASE!"

Kitty just kept on staring at him. Her brain still couldn´t quite grasp what was just happening. There was Scratch in front of her begging for his death. A few months earlier she had pulled the trigger… Damn, even a few days earlier she had maybe pulled the trigger. But now there was something in her that doesn´t want to hurt him. Something that even pitied him.

But then her gaze fell on Stan, who laid there with legs that were shot to pieces, and the anger rose in her again. She ripped her gun out of Scratch´s suicidal grip and beat the handle of it directly in his face. Blood spitting the dog went down on his knees. Scratch glared angrily at her and held his bleeding nose. He wanted to stand up again but Kitty kept him on the ground by pointing with her gun at him which she held tight with both of her hands.

"What are you think you doing here?" she snorted with fury. "You come here and attacking your brother?!"
"Yeah, what a great brother!" said Scratch despairingly. "Helps to make a massacre…"
"But this is no reason to do something like… that!" she screamed shocked. "It´s your brother, Dudley! Or is there still a piece of Dudley in you?" Kitty let her gun slowly down. "Is Dudley Puppy dead? Is there just Scratch?"

Scratch said nothing, he just stared at the ground and watched how his blood dripped down. Maybe he didn´t want to answer, or he just didn´t know what to answer. The result was the same.
But instead of him the other member of the Puppy family raised his voice. "Scratch?" Stan coughed blood spitting. "Wait, you are Scratch?"

"Yes he is." Answered Kitty for Scratch.
"Oh… then I have a massage for you." Even though the mutt must have been suffered great pains, a smile similar to that smile that Scratch always had on his face, spurred his lips to smile. "We have the girl…"

"What?" Scratch had raised his look from the ground and gazed over his shoulder to his bleeding brother.
"You got me. Your girl… Parva. We got her… And if you should kill Mr. White she will have the same fate as him…"

Scratch fall silent, with eyes wide open he turned around. The shock was written in the psychopath´s face.
"Oh…" laughed Stan, even if that more sounded like an anguished cry. "I understand… Then it´s already too late for her."

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HER!" Scratch jumped on Stan and started maltreating his face with his fists. "TELL ME WHAT…"
"FREEZE!" a familiar voice suddenly screamed and startled the little group. The tall cheetah and her sidekick together with a lot of other agents stood with their guns at firing position and just waited for a reason to use their guns.

"GET OF THIS MAN!" screamed Keswick who really seemed to enjoy the feeling to have a gun in his hands.
But Scratch didn´t obey, he just kept beating.
Jessica and Keswick looked grinning at each other. And after the scientist received a little nod from his boss he did it. He pulled the trigger. A short scream of pain later Scratch laid beside his brother on the ground and held his shoulder.

"Good shot!" praised Jessica approving the result.
"I actually aimed f..f..for the head." Keswick laughed.
"If you hit the head I had bought you a beer Keswick."

"Oh my god what are you two doing?" shouted Kitty surprised by their arrival.
"Your job." Meant Jessica holstering her gun. "Arresting one of the most dangerous criminals worldwide." Triumphing the cheetah strode to the writhing psychopath. "Dudley Puppy. I you are arrested." With a skilful placed kick she made Scratch turning on his back so she could handcuff him.

In the meantime a team of paramedics took care of the hurt Stan. Now that Scratch, the threat, was gone, they were allowed to tend his wounds. Or better, they were trying to save his life.
What happened then was even more surreal for Kitty than what happened before. Scratch didn´t even try to resist against getting arrested. He just accepted it.

In every moment until Jessica put him into the T.U.F.F. van she thought he would escape. She knew that he could escape from such situations, she knew the stories but Scratch just went with them. It seemed that he didn´t want to fight anymore. It seemed that he gave up.

Actually Kitty thought that she would be happy to see that but now she felt… nothing. Neither joy nor sadness. There was just a big question mark in her head.
"His own b..b..brother." Keswick walked up to her and shook his head. "He is sick…"
"Maybe…" meant Kitty pensively.

"Maybe? You don´t still have s..s..sympathy with him, do you?" the little scientist eyed the questioning stare of the cat for a while before he finally sighed. "Anyway, come on, before J..J..Jessica leaves without us… I don´t want to miss the i..i..interrogation."