CHAPTER FOUR: INTO THE SEWERS

Thankfully, in the event he needed to search around in the dark in the prison for Margalo, Stuart had brought a flashlight. Still, there wasn't much light in the sewers. And the smell was bothering both of them. "I thought Monty's gas was the most foul odor out there, but that was before I came down here!" Margalo gagged.
"Well, I'm not planning for us to live here. I just-"
"Where are you planning for us to live? Obviously, Falcon's no longer alive for me to go back to, and you think you'll go to jail if you go back to the Littles."
"I admittedly hadn't thought of that. All I had planned on was getting you out of jail."
"Failing to plan is planning to fail."
"Well, we'll just take this one step at a time."
"It's best to have plans ahead of time. That's what kept me from being caught when I worked for Falcon."
"All I knew was that you are my friend and that I wasn't going to let you rot in jail. I'd have taken you somewhere safe before returning to the Littles if I'd had even had the slightest inkling that they'd have handed you over to the police."
"Oh Stuart, don't blame yourself for what happened to me. I made my bed when I came to steal from you and now I have to sleep in it. I didn't want you in trouble. That was the reason I left you in the first place. I've brought you nothing but trouble. The Littles were right. I'm more trouble than I'm worth."
"Margalo, you are my friend. Friends go through trouble for friends."
"Stuart, I've never had a friend before. All I had was Falcon."
"And all I had were human friends, who I really couldn't fit in with," he sighed. "But then, I met you, and everything changed."
"Did it change for the better? Are you better off now than before we met? You're a criminal now, just like me. That wasn't what I wanted to happen to you. In fact, I think it would have been better for both of us if we'd never met."
"It would have been better for me, not for you. Falcon was abusing you. How many times has he locked you in that paint can?"
"Several. And when I was younger, he told me if I didn't steal for him, he wouldn't let me eat."
"I knew it! He was abusing you and you were trapped and afraid to get out."
"Well, am I free now?"
"You're not in a cage and you're not with Falcon anymore."
"Yes, but I'm still viewed as a criminal, just like I was before. What changed in the end?"
"Now you have a friend to go through it with you."

After traveling for two hours, Margalo was starting to tire. This had been a long day for her. She had been on a mission for Falcon before Stuart had even come to the Pishkin Building, been through that ordeal with Falcon in the air, been taken to jail, and now been on the lam with Stuart. A day like that would tire any girl! "Stuart, my wings are starting to get tired. I need a rest."
"Ok, but I thought you didn't like standing in, well, you know."
"It's not like I have a choice!"
The two landed. The canary looked ahead, rather than daring to look down. She was certain she'd vomit if she could see what the two of them were standing in. She had been part of many risky and unpleasant missions for Falcon, but never had she been in such an unpleasant predicament before. "We'll rest here for a while. I really don't want to walk through this mess."
"Ok. Rest as long as you need."

The two rested for half an hour. Margalo held her nose to keep out, as much as she could anyway, the foul odor. When the two were about to set off again, they heard a voice calling to them. "Hey you two!" The voice had a gruff Italian accent.
"Who's there?" Margalo called, looking around nervously.
"This is our turf!"
"We didn't want to be here. We're only down here because we're desperate," the canary said.
"Who are you?" Stuart asked.
"I'll be asking the questions here. I'd like to ask who you two are."
"My name is Stuart L, er," he paused, unwilling to say "Little", "just Stuart. And her name is Margalo."
"A mouse and a canary together. Ya don't see that everyday."
"We're trying to avoid being seen at all."
"It sounds like y'all are in some kind of trouble."
"What gave that away, besides us sneaking around in the sewers in the middle of the night?" Margalo asked sarcastically.
"Can it, toots! Show the man some respect!" came an angry reply, from someone else, also with an Italian accent.
"Hey, don't call her 'toots'!" Stuart snapped.
"We can call anybody anything we want. We're in charge down here! And if y'all don't like it, ya can turn around and get yer sorry tails outta here!" said the lead voice.
"Look, we don't want any trouble. We're trying to get away from it, in fact. We're just trying to find a way out of the city without going above ground," Margalo said.
"I can get that for ya, but it's gonna cost ya."
"You can get us out of the city?" Stuart asked hopefully.
"That's right, for a price. I don't do nutin' for free."
"We don't exactly have a lot."
"I'll be checkin' to see what ya gots and if it it's enough. If it is, then I'll help ya."

A tall and beefy rat came into sight. He searched through Stuart's backpack. "Well, I'll be takin' this," he said, taking out the string brought along, "and this," he said, taking out all of the food.
"We kind of need the food," Stuart argued. "So do we. Rats gotta eat too, ya know. Ya want outta the city tonight or not?"
"Fine," the mouse sighed.
"Also, you're on our turf, so y'all gonna need to pay us a trespassing fee."
"What?" Stuart asked.
"How 'bout that pin the bird has?"
"That belonged to my mother. That's all that I have left of her!" Margalo pleaded.
"Please, isn't there anything else you could want?""
"Sure is, matter of fact. I'll take yer shirt, the one you've got on yer back. Makes great nestin' material."
"Ok, fine." Stuart sighed, giving him his shirt.
"This way, please, if ya will." the lead rat sat.

It took hours, but around three in the morning, the two reached the end of the sewers and the edge of New York City. "Pleasure doin' business with ya," the lead rat said, departing with the others.
"I'm sorry about your shirt, Stuart," Margalo said.
"That's ok, I packed extra. At least he didn't take my pants."
The two were near the Hudson River. Margalo, using the rest of her energy, flew Stuart across. They were now in New Jersey and, for the moment, out of the jurisdiction of the police of both New York City and New York state. The two fugitives were now very exhausted. Right now, they needed a place to sleep. Thankfully, while not far into Fort Lee, New Jersey, the two found several newspapers as well as some sticks. "I guess this will have to do," the mouse sighed. They hastily used the sticks to prop up the newspapers as a sort of tent. At least they had a crude shelter from the elements. They used more nearby newspaper to make crude beds and blankets. "Well, goodnight, Margalo. I guess we'll just have to take tomorrow and every day after that one day at a time."
"I guess so. And goodnight."