"Thank god, a happy ending" smirked Willson and opened exuberantly exactly the bottle of wine he had saved for an occasion like this. It was done! Scratch done it! Katswell was dead. And because of that the psychopath was also dead. Willson didn´t understand at first why the voice thought it would help to let Scratch kill this cat.
Something about a connection between the psychopath and her. The voice prattled something about an emotional bond between them, he even mentioned love or something, and that Scratch´s actual name was Dudley Puppy. But Willson understood this neither and now nor he cared about it anymore.
Generally he didn´t care about much, especially not people. People were for him what the pipe-wrench for a plumber was. Tools, means to an end. Already in school he manipulated his class mates and even teachers regardless of the consequences that were ahead of them, while he of course stayed undercover, always washing his hands in innocence.
It was, if you want to call it like that, his talent. Doing things without, at least in the opinion of all people around, being involved in it. A talent which was worth more than gold in politics. Willson was able to eliminate all of his political enemy with the help of this talent.
Except mayor Bear, his predecessor. This guy was just so popular, every scandal bounced off him. Or sometimes even made him stronger. Willson sometimes heard the people saying about the ex-mayor: 'Ah, I don´t bother. That just shows that he´s a person like you and me.'
It was unbelievable! How should he win against a Teflon pan? But luckily in this moment of career stagnation a sinister person raised his voice on the phone and gave him the chance to climb the ladder up further.
Well, of course it cost some lives but nothing in this world is free. And like already mentioned, he didn´t really care about people. 271 tools more or less in this world, that totally doesn´t matter. After all there are 7 billion tools out there.
Willson took a big sip from the bottle and put it euphorically back on the table. His guards told him that Scratch arrived with a dead woman on his arms and as he asked them how the expression on the dogs face had looked like they just answered with the word 'empty'. Just like the voice prophesized it!
"It´s so good if a plan works like it should." He thought grinning. Even though 'like it should' was a lie. Robson was dead, Johnson was dead and White was dead. But at least he was alive. That for itself was enough reason to celebrate.
Happily Willson danced back to his table and gazed at the little monitor which was integrated into it. The guards still stood around Scratch who was holding this cat on his arms. The voice´s orders for this situation were actually very clear. "Shoot him" he said back then.
But Willson didn´t want that the dog just got shot by the guards, that was boring, that had no style. No, he wanted to humiliate him a bit before he would lead him over the Jordan.
Smiling the wolf pushed the little red button beside the screen and said. "Search him for guns and bring him in here."
After his command was spoken Willson watched how a dozen guards searched Scratch for anything he could use as a weapon. The results were a pencil, color black, and a long knife on which the blood still hasn´t dried yet. As they were finally sure that they wouldn´t find anything, the guards send him through the wide double doors.
"Finally we meet Mr. Scratch." roared Willson with delight as the doors opened.
"Obviously." Whispered the dog still with this empty gaze.
"Oh, where are my manners?" asked the wolf as he saw that Scratch´s arms started to tremble. He must have carried this cat for god knows how long. "Just lay her down at the table, so we can talk."
In silence Scratch accepted the offer and laid Kitty softly on the table. Gently he stroked through her hair and whispered. "I´m sorry Kitty…" before he turned back to Willson who had used the time to lock the door. "I think we need a bit privacy."
"For what? Can´t you just kill me and then it´s okay?" Scratch sighed tiredly.
"No no…" said Willson fast. "That would be too easy… and too less fun. I mean, wouldn´t you enjoy the moment if you were me?"
"Maybe…" growled Scratch clenching his fists.
"Well then, Mr. Scratch…" started Willson as he walked behind his desk and pulled a gun out of the highest drawer. "How does it feel to kill the person you once loved."
Scratch answered just by his body language. He clenched his fist tighter, gritted his teeth and took quick and long breaths so that his chest moved up and down in a powerful and somehow intimidating way.
"Oh like that." Smirked Willson and walked around the desk. "I have to admit that I´m pretty amazed that this bothers you at all. I mean, I read a bit about you and I have to say, I take my head off to you." nonchalantly the wolf leaned against the table and started shaking his head in awe.
"I mean the things you did were more than impressive. For example one of the several bank robberies you did. In and out in less than five minutes. Impressive. And then how smart you invested the money. Drug trafficking! Ha! I wish that this would have been my idea. And all that just to be here in this room at the end." With his elbow he gave corpse laying behind him a little nudge and asked him then. "Was it worth it, Mr. Scratch?"
Now something odd happened. Willson had expected much from Scratch. Breaking down, crying or attacking him but this crazy canine suddenly started to laugh manically.
"You know what, Mr. Willson." He replied wiping some tears of laughter away. "Actually nothing is really worth the effort. In the end life always finds its way to disappoint you somehow. You always get a shovel of sand in your face by someone. And if you scratch the dirt out of your face you can whether ask yourself if it was worth the effort or stand up and wait for the next shovel. And do you know what´s so nice about standing up again?"
"Tell me." Replied Willson still grinning triumphing. But that changed every quickly as instead of Scratch a female voice behind him answered the question. "Sometimes you can throw dirt in someone else´s face."
"What the hell?" Willson spun startled around just to look into the barrel of a gun held by no one else than a smiling Kitty Katswell. "But… but… but… but…" the wolf repeated like a broken record trying to make sense out of that.
"Why I am still alive?" Kitty asked grinning as she snatched the gun out of the wolf´s hand. "Well… I think the master himself should explain his plan."
"Thank you Kitty." Nodded Scratch thankfully and also a bit flattered. "Oh and by the way, as I carried you I was able to realize that you use a new perfume, or am I mistaken?"
"No you´re right I changed the brand. I´m currently using 'Midnight Moon' by Cloe Levevre." Smiled Kitty.
"Well, you smell fantastically. Keep it." smiled Scratch friendly back.
"ARE YOU TWO KIDDING ME RIGHT NOW?" screamed Willson into the smiling.
"Oh yes, forget about you." said Scratch and caught the gun Kitty threw him. "Oh and keep it down. If the guards break the door open you´ll die before they reach you. Anyway… Where was I? Yes, right. Well, it all began a few days ago. As I walked into our hotel room and knew that something was wrong. And after searching a bit I found your little bug. A perfect coincidence because I more or less had an apartment right here." Scratch tapped with his finger against Willson´s forehead. "I had just to play out the right cards to get where I wanted to get right here."
"Well… that´s of course nice for you but you forget, I still have Parva!" Willson replied trying to get his neck out of the noose.
"Oh well I…" Scratch fell silent as his cellphone rang in his pocket. He got it out quickly and answered it. "Yeah? … excellent. Could you repeat that again?" The bald head dog passed the phone to the mayor who held it against his ear just to hear a young woman´s voice saying. "Why that? Haven´t you heard it old man? I´m free again! You should really go and test your hearing."
Willson looked in that second like something just died in him, what was obviously his courage. The wolf suddenly became pale and again started to stammer. "H…How… but… how?!"
"As I said, I had an apartment in your head. I needed a spy in your little organization so Seneca and I did this little role play in our room about him leaving the team. I immediately knew that you wouldn´t resist trying to buy him. And then I knew everything you wanted to do… I mean do you really think that Seneca would leave the team because of such trifles? " Scratch laughed. "He´s very thankful for the million, though. He meant he now had, all in all, enough to support all his kids forever… even the ones he don´t know about yet. Anyway, after you swallowed the bait the things got nevertheless a bit complicated. The thing with my brother was a surprise… and not a good one. I mean, knew that there was another killer involved but not that it was him. By the way, my arrest was part of the plan. I had to give you the chance to make me this offer somehow. Also, it was a pretty good opportunity to ask Kitty if she would help me. I actually planned two possible ways how I end up here. One of them you see right now, it worked because of Kitty´s cooperation. The other one was freeing myself from the T.U.F.F. detention and then come here alone while Seneca frees Parva from wherever he kept her. So you and me would be standing here, you would recite your boring speech and then after I told you that I haven´t killed Kitty you had given Seneca the order to kill Parva and then the call would come in. But luckily Kitty offered me her help. She played her role really fantastically and, as I see it, she had fun doing that." Scratch looked again at his old flame and said enthusiastically "Really, you deserve an Oscar."
"Ahh, you." she meant flattered. "You weren´t bad too. You for example played the grieving psychopath very well. And the whole thing in the interrogation room. I mean you took the beating pretty well."
"Your idea was great." Laughed Scratch. "Beating me up and offering me your help. Best part of it was as you rammed your fist into my face saying. 'That has to look real, sorry. But I want to help you. You have a plan?' It was really hard for me after that to keep the mean look on my face."
"Now that you say it… it really sounds odd, doesn´t it?" chuckled Kitty lively.
"Yep it does." Smiled Scratch. "But hey, there is one last thing we still have to do." Calmly he unlocked the gun and pointed it at Willson´s head. "Check mate, mayor."
Fearfully the mayor walked backwards around his table with his hands raised so high like it was anatomically possible.
"Okay, Willson, let´s make that clear." Scratch said as Willson bumped against a wall with a great window. "I want the name of your boss. Otherwise… I think you read about me."
"But… Ms. Katswell!" Willson looked over Scratch shoulder trying to address Kitty. "Ms. Katswell, you are a T.U.F.F. agent! You have to stop him."
"Well, Mr. Willson." Kitty said grinning almost Scratch like. "Of course not but actually… I am dead. And as a dead person I can´t help you."
"But you…" stammered the mayor with tears in his eyes.
"Oh come on Willson." She meant cutting the wolf short. "You lost… rien ne va plus."
"Rien ne va plus?" Scratch asked turning his head to her grinning confused.
"It´s French and means something like… no more bets… it´s over."
"I know, I visited a casino once or twice. I was just surprised… that was kind of cool."
"You know why? Because I am cool." Laughed Kitty what made also Scratch laugh.
"Yes you are" he giggled Scratch dedicating his whole attention back to Willson. "Okay, Mr Willson, as you heard, rien ne va plus. So you better give me an answer now."
"I…I… the voice will kill me if I say anything."
"You kidding me right?" Scratch asked. "What do you think I will do? What do you think is in this gun? Marshmallows? I am the damn threat you should dedicate your whole fear to!"
"You don´t have any clue what the voice can do! Just leave me alone, okay?" Willson begged with tears in his eyes.
"Nope, I want a name. Now!" Scratch pressed the barrel of his gun with such force at Willson´s head that he bounced back against the window pane and even cracked the glass a little.
"No… I… I…"
"Do I have to torture you first before you spit it out?"
"No! Please no!" Willson suddenly sounded no longer fearful, he sounded totally panicked.
"THEN TALK" Scratch screamed furiously at him.
"I don´t know who the voice is exactly… Only one person I know knew it."
"Who?"
Willson contorted his face like he would expect a punch for the next thing he say. "Mathew Richards."
"What?!" Scratch didn´t give Willson what he expected but what he gave him was a look full of disbelieve. "You want to tell me that the only connection to your boss is the man I killed in the beginning of all of this?!"
"Well… yes."
Scratch pushed himself away from Willson and scratched the back of his head with the barrel of his gun. He was never so close to break down and scream like an angry spoiled brat whose parents didn´t get him the right presents for Christmas. The work of more than 7 years was just destroyed with this one simple sentence by Willson. All bridges were burnt down, all his sacrifices made pointless by this comment.
"Dudley, are you… okay?" asked Kitty as she saw how he paced restlessly up and down. Again and again the dog ran with his fingers over the baldness on his head. It can´t end like that, there had to be something, at least something.
"How did you communicate with 'the voice'?" He asked stepping closer to Willson again.
"With this phone over there." With a shivering hand the wolf pointed at his desk. Scratch rushed without faltering to the desk and eyed the phone. Quickly he saw something what was odd for a phone.
"It isn´t plugged." He mumbled eying the device. "Why isn´t it plugged?" confused he picked up the phone and turned it in his hands. "There is something…" with a swift move Scratch beat the phone against the table making the plastic hull crack revealing the inner of that phone which was even more odd.
There wasn´t the usual printed circuit boards you would expect in such a phone, a completely different circuit was integrated in it. "Holly…" Scratch panted as he saw it.
"What?" asked Kitty eying the electronics cluelessly. She was usually good with such stuff but she had never seen something like this before.
"That is receiver and a transmitter for short distance communication connected to a battery!" the dog gasped.
"Short distance… do you mean…"
"Yes… every time the voice had called it was here somewhere… not further than one mile away from this phone." Explained Scratch with a smile rising on his lips again. "That means this bastard was in the city the whole time! Also, it means that someone had to change the phones batteries frequently. And that means I just have to check everybody who was in this building for the last few days. Sure a lot of people but at least a number." Scratch started to laugh again. A feeling of release spread in him. There was hope again.
"Wait, what do you mean with the voice was around here all the…"In the same moment in which Willson fall silent the loud rattling of cracking glass was audible.
Startled turned Scratch and Kitty their heads to the mayor who fell lifelessly to the ground.
"Dammit!" called the dog and ran to the window where he could just see the silhouette of someone running away on remote rooftop. "You dense motherfucker…" Scratch growled. "Willson was mine!"
He wanted to run after the assassin immediately, because he was either part of this whole thing or a very pissed citizen and the first thing sounded more plausible for Scratch, but a squad of heavily armed T.U.F.F. agents who broke the door open hindered him.
The T.U.F.F. agents were led by no one else than Jessica who glared with him with a look somewhere between triumph and hate. A bit confused Scratch looked into the barrels of the riffles before he put his hands up and grumbled annoyed. "God dammit…"
"Right you are." Confirmed Jessica with a tone of voice that reflected the expression on her face. "Caught you. Finally… after all this shit, I caught you. And now I let you pay." With joy cocked the cheetah the colt in her hand. She wanted to enjoy this. "Any last words."
"Can I say something?" Kitty asked raising her arm like a student that knows the answer to a question the teacher just asked.
"Right… let her say something" said Scratch shrugging while he smugly watched how the face of the temporarily chief of T.U.F.F. went from this undefinable triumph-hate expression to total perplexity.
"You have no words?" asked the cat jumping of the table. "Usually it was hard to make you shut your mouth."
"Narratio argentea, silentium vero aureum est." Scratch laughed about the saying what again just he understood.
"WHY ARE YOU ALIVE!" it burst out of Jessica. "I SAW YOU DYING."
"You saw what we wanted you to see." Smirked Scratch.
"But I saw how you rammed a knife into her stomach! I saw her dying!" the cheetah waved her hands around distraughtly. "How you explain that! How do explain that!" her hands finally found a something to do and pointed at the big blood stain on Kitty´s coat.
"Oh, the blood?" Kitty reached with her hand under the whited shirt she wore under the open coat and pulled out a plastic bag in which contained the rest of a red fluid.
"I just stabbed this bag." Explained Scratch. "It was pretty difficult to make this look real and not hurting Kitty with the knife."
"And the whole thing in the interrogation room?" Jessica´s perplexity more and more yield to the feeling that someone played a big prank on her and led to the fact that more and more anger gathered in her. And Scratch´s self-satisfied grin and Kitty´s triumphing smile poured fuel into the flame in her.
"Big theater play… even though it was a painful one." The dog said running with his hand over his still swollen face.
"Don´t be such a baby." Sighed Kitty punching him hard on the arm. "You had your revenge in the storage hall."
"Revenge you call that? Gave me a beating and stabbed my shoulder! The only thing I did was giving you a few punches and pretended to choke you!"
"HEY!" Jessica shouted pointing with her gun alternatingly at Scratch and Kitty. "I still have some questions. Like… why did you do that in the storage hall anyway? You could have just met and the go here."
"Well, we had to assume that maybe someone watches me. So we had to fake a fight there. Also, carrying Kitty in the office gave me the chance to smuggle a gun in here." Meant Scratch with a casual tone.
"And what was my role there? Witnessing that all?" asked Jessica pointing the colt at him.
"No… you were the variable in my plan. You actually weren´t supposed to show up in the hall. Even though you provided me with the gun I could hide on Kitty´s body. Of course we had searched one if you weren´t there but thanks."
"I think here being there was my fault." Said Kitty. "As I jumped over the roofs I had to stop at a spot to pick the blood bag up and place it on my body… you must have caught up with me in that time."
"But what about…" the first time since she saw Kitty Jessica´s confusion was low enough to grasp the area around her. Also the rest of the agents behind her seemed to see it now. The dead mayor.
"So you brought it to an end, huh?" the temporally chief pushed the barrel of her colt aggressively into Scratch stomach while also a dozen of red laser dots gathered on the dog´s chest.
"I´d really liked to say that this was my work but this time someone else owns the respect for this."
Jessica looked surprised at Kitty and gasped. "You were that?!"
"No!" protested the chief on vacation. "A sniper did that… We wanted to chase after him but then you burst in."
Jessica turned around to her men and ordered. "Don´t just stand here! Search the surrounding area for this sniper!" then she turned back to Scratch and Kitty. "Okay… I think there is only one thing left to do." She said pulling her handcuffs out. "Dudley Puppy, you are arrested."
"I don´t think it would have any use to struggle against this, huh?" asked the dog.
"Not really Dudley." Said Kitty laying her hand on his shoulder.
Scratch let out a protracted sigh and then asked her resigning. "But you remember our deal?"
"When you get out of jail, we´ll find the voice." She nodded smiling slightly.
"Then you better stay ready. I know a good lawyer." He laughed winking.
"Yeah sure." Sneered Jessica. "You killed at least 4 people! No way that you got out soon."
Scratch hold his arms towards Jessica waiting her for cuff them. "Try to prove that." He said with his unmistakable smile on the lips.
"You will see." Jessica said and handcuffed the psychopath.
Scratch was arrested the second time on this day now. This time also not completely against his will.
-"Narratio argentea, silentium vero aureum est." = "Talk is silver, silence is golden."-
-So, I hope that wasn´t too obvious :) I mean, if I let Kitty die, I would that a bit more… spectacular. Hope you like the chapter, there is one more to go. The epilogue.-