by M. A. Owens
I stepped inside, and she stopped playing, turning her head partway around, hesitating for a moment, then turning her attention back to the piano, playing a slow tune.
“Detective…” she said, casually acknowledging my presence, as though I had shown up right on time to a planned date. She’d seen me in the wine glass’s reflection. Clever, as always.
“Sugarplum. You look… lovely, if you don’t mind me saying.”
I stepped closer, moving alongside the piano to watch her play. I had to play it cool here, but I also had to rush this along. Say the wrong thing, and she may not agree to come. Regardless of what Kerdy said, force was not really an option for me.
“Thank you, Trigger. You’re very sweet. Do you like the music? Can I get you something to drink?” she asked, while continuing to play, looking up at me with green eyes that almost seemed to glow in the hint of moonlight creeping through the mostly drawn curtains, and the dim candle whose flame danced nearby.
“I’ve come to rescue you,” I said. “Grab a few things and let’s get moving.”
She stopped, staring at the keys of the piano as though she’d suddenly forgotten how to play.
“Sugarplum, did you hear me? I’m here to get you away from these cats. We have a hideout here in Adria. We can be there before anyone notices we were here. We can stay—”
She giggled, then slowly began playing again. “You fool… I know why you’re really here.”
Great. Here it comes.
I cleared my throat, hoping we weren’t going down this road. “Sure, I just told you. Grab your things. Let’s go.”
She slapped the keys on the piano, locking eyes with me again, this time with her eyes welling with tears.
“You’re here to find out about where they took Lily, am I right? Your friend helped you because she knows I can expose Saul’s location, right?” she shouted her questions at me, as though she were the detective delivering an interrogation. “You don’t care about me at all…”
She started playing again.
“Sugarplum listen to me. I—”
“And you shouldn’t!” she shouted again. “I sold you out. I earned your trust. The trust of a dog who trusted no one. Then, I betrayed it. I told Saint everything he needed to know about you, funded his operation, even gave him advice on things he might offer you.”
“And you convinced him to spare me all those times he and his cats picked me up. I know it’s not in his nature to offer deals and let a threat walk free. Do you think I’m stupid? I know you must’ve saved my life, too. Yeah, you sold me out. You sold the entire city out. The mess you made might take generations to clean up. Might not clean it up at all. Going to take a long time before I can forgive you for this. After what happened to Harvey, and Rick, I’m not sure I can forgive you at all, but…”
She stopped playing again. I seemed to get through. Choose your words carefully, Trigger. I continued.
“We can try, right? There’s a lot you can do right now to make this right. You can help me save Lily. You can help Kerdy find Saint.”
“I knew it. You—”
I grabbed her wrist and pulled her close. “Doggone it, let me finish. If I just wanted those things, I could ask you and leave. I could’ve smuggled a message to you somehow. This was the hardest thing to pull off, and we pulled it off because we wanted to save you too. We all know what you did, so don’t let me hear the self-pity routine. It’s all in the open. No secrets anymore. Let’s undo these mistakes together.”
She rested her paw on mine. “I believe you, but even if I wanted… I can’t, Trigger. Right now, I’m the only one keeping this whole thing from getting much worse, much faster. Saint still has to listen to me, even if it’s less than before. He knows he’s close to being independent, but he’s not there yet. If I pulled my funding, he worries it might leave him vulnerable.”
I raised my brow. “Would it?”
She shook her head. “No, it wouldn’t. He just doesn’t want to take the risk, is all. He doesn’t want the bad publicity that might come with our falling out. Mr. B’s loyalists are everywhere, waiting to surface. They’re in Saint’s organization at every level, at least one in every group, sometimes more. Any event might trigger their action, and he doesn’t want to deal with that right now. Appeasing me is the best way to hold them back.”
“So, what, then? You’re not coming?”
“No, Trigger. I’m not…”
I let go of her wrist and stepped back. I took a deep breath, slipping my paw into my pocket, gripping the vial.
“Sugarplum, we have to go.”
She looked up at me again, her eyes showing a side of Sugarplum I’d never seen before, and I lost all will to fight her anymore. I let my paw slip from my pocket, empty.
“Fine,” I said. I felt numb, like I’d just closed my eyes and climbed the tallest snowy mountain in the world, only to open my eyes and realize I’d slipped every step, and still stood at the bottom. The emotion hit me like nothing had ever hit me before. The feeling of complete and utter defeat. I couldn’t save her.
“This fight is going to take longer than any of us want, but I promise I’ll do everything I can to hold him back from the inside,” she said.
“Things are going to get a lot harder for you after tonight. If you tell me about Lily and Saint, he’s going to know it was you. He won’t treat you as well anymore.”
She smiled, this time grabbing my paw in hers.
“I’m tough. I learned from a wonderful teacher how to be a detective. I’ll leak information, find clues. He can’t muzzle me completely. Everything still has to look normal from the outside. Just trust me, alright? This time, I’ll earn it.”
“Alright. I trust you,” I said, taking a deep breath and letting it out. “I’m sorry, we’re out of time.”
She nodded, letting go of my paw and wiping her eyes. “I’m afraid what I have to tell you isn’t good news.”
“Yeah, don’t worry about it. There’s not been any other kind of news lately. Just tell me.”
“At around midnight, they’re moving Lily to a location I don’t know. Once she’s moved, I won’t have any way of finding out where she is. You must rescue her tonight.”
“That’s not so bad,” I said. “Kerdy and I together should be able to handle it, and I can get more help if needed. What about Saul?”
“Saul is heading for the opposite side of the district, near the wall. He’s planning to scale with a tool, like the one Kerdy had, and bring two of Saint’s best cats with him to smuggle in more weapons he hid away outside.” She leaned over and pulled a pen and paper from the desk beside her, scribbling two addresses down, stuffing the paper in my paw.
“What?” I said, panicked. “Oh, no. No, no. That can’t happen, and we can’t go after both.”
“I’m sorry, Trigger… I didn’t want you to have to choose.”
“I have to go, Sugarplum. Thank you.” I spun around, but she grabbed my arm.
“I know every second counts, but…” She stood to her feet, grabbing me and hugging me tightly. “Just a few seconds. We may not see each other again. Just a few seconds.”
Everything in me wanted to shove her away and run, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. I put my arms around her and pulled her closer. I held her there for a few seconds, just as she’d asked.
“This isn’t ‘goodbye’, Sugarplum. This is ‘see you soon’,” I said, putting my paws on her shoulders and gently pushing her away.
She smiled, wiping her eyes again. “You can do it, detective.”
I nodded, sprinting back the way I came, now with no regard for what or who might wait for me around every corner. There wasn’t time. Midnight was just hours away, and I didn’t know how we were going to manage.
I shot out the door to Kerdy’s shocked expression.
“Where is Sugarplum?” she whispered aggressively.
“She refused to come,” I said.
“You weren’t supposed to let
her do that! Even if she told you where Lily and Saul are, there will be other information we’ll need.”
“She’s going to help from the inside, Kerdy,” I said, getting more impatient as the questions continued.
“And you believe her? Hah! What a fool you are. Your soft heart will—”
“Doggone it, Kerdy, shut your mouth! I know where Saul and Lily are. They’re moving Lily tonight, and Saul’s going to retrieve more weapons he’s hidden outside the city?”
“He what?” Kerdy roared. “You’re on your own, Trigger. I have to stop him now. This is my last chance to stop him without escalating to a level that, trust me, you do not want.”
I grabbed her shoulders. “Kerdy, if we run, we can circle around and enter our hiding spot safely. Brutus and Buddy are already there, waiting to meet us after we rescued Sugarplum. We’ll have a few minutes to come up with something, but I need you to trust me. Don’t run off. I need you. Please!”
She smacked my arms away, and paced for a moment, putting her paws on her head and muttering something under her breath.
“Okay, Trigger, but know that many more lives than Lily’s rides on what we do tonight. Let’s go.”
20
After taking the shortest detour we could justify to make sure we weren’t followed, we burst into the rear door of the gym, causing Buddy and Brutus to leap from their chairs. They’d added a fifth chair to the table, for Sugarplum.
“Where’s Sugarplum?” Buddy asked.
“No time, pal,” I said.
“Gonna have to make time, Trigger. That was the plan,” he said, leaning on the table.
“Buddy. No. Time,” I repeated, gritting my teeth.
Buddy opened his mouth again to speak, but Kerdy interrupted.
“He’s right. Every breath we waste right now is critical. Every minute wasted could be a life we fail to save.”
Buddy’s face drooped, realizing the gravity of the situation. He sat back down in his chair, motioning for us to continue. Brutus sat quietly, watching us.
“At midnight, Saul is leaving the city to smuggle in more super weapons, like the one he used to blow the wall of that brick building out and nearly killed Harvey with. At midnight, on the opposite end of the district, they’re moving Lily to a more secure location only Saint and his closest cats know. Once she’s gone, we’ll no longer have any way to find her. She’ll be his permanent hostage.”
Buddy scratched the back of his head, as if suddenly fighting an infestation of biting fleas, growling as he did.
“But… we can’t be at both places and only Kerdy could take on Saul.”
We all sat looking at the table, bad plan after bad plan manifesting in our minds and being discarded before they could make it into words.
“Will we really have to choose?” Buddy asked, looking up at me. “You know the choice we have to make, Trigger… I know you have to go after Lily, but—”
“I know, Buddy, but I have a better idea.”
Everyone snapped their gazes to me, for once without argument. I had their full attention. No one said a word.
“Kerdy will save Lily. We dogs will go after Saul.”
Kerdy leaped to her feet, ready to object, but her half-open mouth didn’t produce words.
Buddy looked angry, but likewise had nothing to say.
Brutus only sat quietly, as he’d been doing, scratching his chin in deep contemplation.
“Do you really think the three of us can stop Saul, Trigger?” Brutus asked, trying to hide his skepticism.
“The real question is…” I turned to Kerdy. “Kerdy, I’m willing to trust you to save Lily. I’m going against every fiber of my body and every piece of my heart not going after her myself. I believe if anyone in the world can pull off something like that alone, it’s you. I’ve seen what you can do when there’s no one there to slow you down. Can you trust us to stop Saul?”
Kerdy stood, walking toward the opposite wall, placing her paws on her hips. “So much rides on this, Trigger. More than you can know.”
“Then we’ll put our lives on the line, if we have to. I know these dogs, and I know they’ll gladly do the same. These are my friends. So are you,” I said, pleading, betting everything on this one request.
She put her paw on the wall, allowing her head to drop against it. “Fine. But, know that if you fail, the river through Arc City will run red, and that blood will be on our paws.”
“No time to lose,” I said, slamming the paper Sugarplum handed me down on the table. “Kerdy, Lily is being held at that same office building we were in before. Third floor. She wrote that ‘all floors heavy guard’ on the note.” I slid the note closer to Brutus and Buddy. “This is our target, opposite side. We can’t let him over that wall, and we can’t let him escape with the weapon he already has.”
“All the planning we need, Trigger. Let’s move!” Buddy said, jumping to his feet, followed quickly by Brutus.
I followed them, stopping only briefly to look back to Kerdy. “I’m counting on you, too. Good luck.”
Kerdy said nothing, just nodded. As hard as it was for me to believe, it was much harder for Kerdy to allow the three of us to go after Saul, than it was for me to let her go after Lily. Kerdy was in a league of her own. Brutus and Buddy were no slouches, but against Saul? I just didn’t know how we’d pull it off. All I knew was that we had to.
We sprinted out the rear door. I glanced over my shoulder to see Kerdy not far behind, gracefully gliding in the opposite direction.
“How’d she get that new leg so quick, Buddy?” I asked.
“Convinced me to take a detour for her when I picked her up from the alley the next morning. I put up a fight, but she’s… well, I’m embarrassed to say it, being twice her size, and her only having one leg at the time, but I think ‘intimidating’ is the right word.”
I nodded, understanding very well.
“Don’t talk. It will damage your endurance. We can’t afford a rest, and we’ll be cutting closer on time than Kerdy,” Brutus scolded.
Buddy and I didn’t answer. Just obeyed. Brutus knew what he was talking about, having trained champion after champion since his retirement, and being among the most famous himself in his time. Thank goodness he decided to get back into fighting shape. I still remember clearly his flabby, sweat-covered face just from walking to the Black District to hire me to investigate the reel swapping incident at his theater. Only wishing I’d taken my condition as seriously, as the pain in my ribs was already hitting from lack of training. I’d have to bear it.
Without warning, Brutus shot down another alley, prompting us to follow him.
“Brutus,” I said, choking on my gasps. “This is out of the way. We’ll be too late.”
“I remembered something. Bear with me. We must pick up the pace to make up for the time we’ll lose, but it’ll be worth it. Now, stop talking,” he scolded again.
This path led us in front of a fine restaurant with outdoor seating. Very upscale place I’d only heard of, never been to. It was a hangout for movie stars, business moguls, and politicians. We ran through the middle of the tables, and I finally realized why we had. Sitting there, at one of the tables with one of the prettiest cat dames I’d ever seen, was Fire Claws, newest heavyweight champion of Arc City. My heart surged with excitement, propelling my limbs forward with renewed power. Yes!
“Sorry to interrupt your date, boy, but I think I can meet your previous request. Join us on our run. I’ll fill you in on the way.”
For a moment, I thought no one would be crazy enough to join three running dogs on the shortest possible notice, leaving the date of a lifetime, but he did just that. Smiling, he jumped up from his table, and began running hard to catch up to us. “Call you later,” he yelled to the dame he’d been sitting with, who was understandably stunned into silence.
“Good, my boy. You remember how you asked me to find the toughest dog or cat in all the city for your next fight. Well, we’ve found them. He’s
an outsider. A cat. Advanced military training. Much better than you, if I had to guess, and he has a dangerous weapon we’ll need to disarm him of,” Brutus continued, sucking in quiet, deep breaths between sentences, going against all the advice he’d just given us. Buddy and I listened quietly, knowing we had much less energy than these two. Me, most of all.
“What a joke, old dog. You better not be wasting my time. I’ve dreamed of fighting someone like that after that title fight letdown. If this cat’s everything you say he is, I’ll sign with your gym for the next ten years, no questions asked.”
Brutus laughed, patting him hard on the back as they ran side-by-side. “Be careful what you wish for, my boy. Just don’t let him point the weapon at you. It sends a blast at range. Remember, we must disarm him. Then, fists will prevail.”
“Yeah! Way better than any old date!” Fire Claws cheered, slapping his paws together and pumping his fist.
One lunatic to battle another, I suppose. Beggars couldn’t be choosers, and I’d have kissed his feet if it would’ve convinced him to help us. I’d say that makes me a beggar.
“Thanks,” Buddy said, half gasping the word.
“Oh, I knew it was legit when I saw this little dog running with you. That’s Trigger. He was there that night when all the craziness went down during my title fight. And that business with Mr. B, and that stolen statue case. Boy, oh, I’ve got all the newspaper clippings, my dog!” he said, looking to me. “You’re like an honest-to-goodness comic book hero. I’m a big fan.”
I was dumbfounded. Me? The heavyweight champion of Arc City, and he was my fan? I’d have laughed hard, but I was afraid I’d pass out or vomit if I did. All I could manage was a sappy smile.
Finally, we reached the wall, precisely where Sugarplum had written. I dropped to my knees, panting hard, checking my watch. Ten minutes early. It’s a wonder I hadn’t died at this pace.
Brutus and Fire Claws looked at one another, looking like they’d just got up off a couch after a leisurely rest. “See, boys, time to spare. We should hide and be ready. No chances, now. We ambush if we can. Allow me the first blow. You know my haymaker hits harder than yours.”
