Chapter 4 – An Absent Father

I didn’t see Fleece today. He must have been busy with his cultists. I was making good progress. Movement was up to 9 and listening was up to 12. Mes had let me know the first levels would come quickly and easily, but it would get much harder.

Everyone sat down for dinner at the group home, and we all clasped our paws. It didn’t matter which creature any of us were. If we disrespected the meal prayer, there would be holy hell to pay. After a moment where Miss Whitefur confirmed everyone had their paws clasped and heads bent would she start the meal prayer.

“In the name of the Warrior Spirit, protect these wayward creatures,” she said.

“Protect us,” we all intoned loudly but solemnly.

“In the name of the Warrior Spirit, guide these wayward creatures.”

“Guide us,” we all spoke in unison once more. I was glad Mes didn’t make any comments, to distract me and make me screw up. Most of the time Mes was content to just wait somewhere in my line of sight, just lazily floating around and looking at creatures.

“In the name of the Warrior Spirit, strike down the evil creatures.”

“Strike them down,” we all said, and I didn’t change my tone in the slightest even as everyone prayed for me to be cut in two. I hadn’t gotten a level in Claw Combat or Danger Sense yet. Bullies didn’t count as danger apparently.

“In the name of the Warrior Spirit-“ there were several loud knocks on the front door. Everyone tensed up.

“Wait here children. I will be right back. And if anything is touched you better know your prayers,” Miss Whitefur threatened before she walked out of the room. No one dared move a muscle or touch their food.

“What do you want? You are interrupting meal prayers,” we all heard Miss Whitefur ask harshly.

“My apologies matron. I was sent to pick up one of your charges, by order of her father.” My heart skipped at that. Was my dad back to save me from this place? I hoped he wouldn’t yell at me for his lost uniform and medals. I heard the shuffling of papers.

“This is quite unusual. Why didn’t her father come himself?” Miss Whitefur asked.

“He is otherwise engaged. You will find I have all the necessary documents,” the voice replied.

“And your name is…?” Miss Whitefur trailed off.

“Ah, I am Mousethief, a most honorable and reliable mouse. You won’t meet anyone more honorable and reliable than me. Now, I am sure your time is quite valuable, and you want to get back to those prayers. Can’t commit sacrilege to the Warrior Spirit, oh no. That would quite sacrilegious,” Mousethief said. I clenched my jaw, so I didn’t make a peep.

A couple of the kids stifled their laughs. “Fine. Take her and begone,” Miss Whitefur said. They both entered the dining area. I glanced up hopefully. “Miss Mittens. Mister Mousethief is here for you and has the necessary paperwork to act on behalf of your father. Get your things.”

“Yes Miss Whitefur,” I said happily as I quickly scrambled off the bench and grabbed my pack. The stone wasn’t glowing anymore thankfully. Mes said it would only glow, when I used the interface. I walked over to Mousethief who had a quirky grin on his face. I didn’t have anything else I needed to get. I just wanted to leave as quickly as possible.

“Thanks for getting me, Mousethief,” I said quickly and quietly.

“Indubitably Miss Mittens, we shall depart posthaste. Miss Whitefur, a pleasure, and good luck with those prayers, they can be quite exhausting and all that.” Mousethief quickly spun and left, and I was right behind him, excited to be leaving. First Mes, and now my father had sent someone to pick me up.

There was a black car waiting for us outside. Mousethief opened up the passenger door and I quickly hopped in. The seat was in the right proportions for me, if a bit large which was surprising. Mousethief closed the door and went around to the driver’s side as I buckled myself in.

He hopped in and in under a second the car was flying down the street like the Snake Spirit was about to eat us whole. My fur stood on end, and I gripped the sides of the car. “We are in a bit of a time crunch unfortunately. Emergency and all that. Which is why I came to pick you up instead of your father. Trouble everywhere, you know how it is, or not,” Mousethief said calmly while making such a sharp turn, that I felt the car’s tires lift off the ground slightly. This wasn’t just fast, this was risking death!

“My father? He came for me?” I asked, focusing on the good bit of what was happening while I tried not to see my life flash before my eyes as Mousethief ignored all safety rules and laws about driving. He swerved to the opposite lane. Cars blared their horns, but he didn’t slow down and just sped up. Don’t speed up. Why are you speeding up?! I felt my fur stand on end as my claws dug in slightly to the car paneling.

“Of course, he did. You are his Mittens. He never forgot about you. Work just keeps him busy. Sorry, I should have asked this before. You want to go with him, right?” Mousethief asked while driving up on a bit of sidewalk, somehow missing various objects. He quickly swerved back onto the road, and I tried not to scream as my stomach wanted to leap out of my throat.

“Yes. Yes! Please,” I begged, not wanting him to change his mind. Mousethief spun the wheel and the tires screeched as we spun up onto the highway. Just please don’t let me die first.

“Oh good. Hold on for the next bit. We are coming in hot and it could get bumpy,” Mousethief said as we burst onto the elevated interstate pushing over 100 miles per hour, or about 160 kilometers per hour, and our speed kept increasing.

“Do you have to drive so fast?” I asked with a slight shriek as we swerved around several cars. I didn’t know if I should keep my eyes open to see my upcoming death or close them to not see it coming.

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“Oh, this is nothing. But yes. Well, you will be read in, so it doesn’t matter that much, but keep this hush hush you know. But there is a High Apostate in the city stirring up trouble. Your father is handling that, but there was a heretic uprising to the North. Thought he would get a break, but High Apostates, no sense of proper timing,” Mousethief talked about all of that like he was going on a stroll while trying to drive us to an early grave.

The car was weaving in and out of traffic, not once hitting anything else. That was the true miracle. Even when he drove on the side portions of the highway. “Why so fast?” I asked and begged. If there was a Driving Spirit, it would have had to have given every possible blessing and curse to Mousethief.

“Oh, well we need to catch our ship and I got a bit lost when trying to find where you were stashed. We miss our boat and the higher ups will have words. Can’t have that you know. Hang on, this is the tricky part!” Mousethief said with some excitement. My eyes went wide, and I gripped my bag and the car for dear life. How could this get any worse? I had lost sight of Mes during the ordeal, but I was more focused on watching my life flash before my eyes.

Then I realized it was my Danger Sense. It was warning me about all the crazy things Mousethief was doing and how close death could come from any direction. It was overwhelming.

Mousethief swerved hard and the car went off the highway onto the grass. We then hit a hill and quickly went up it and air born. The car slammed into the top of a chain fence, smashing it aside, and landed on an adjacent street. He spun the wheel, and the car did a 360 degrees spin tires screeching.

“Meeeeeep!” I couldn’t help letting a slight cry escape me as the car narrowly avoided a couple of buildings and a couple of older voles walking together on the sidewalk.

“Don’t worry the fun isn’t over yet. I rarely get to drive,” Mousethief said, and the car shot off again. “Your father hates radio. Makes it a pain to coordinate, but he says it distracts him and ruins his senses. Well, I have a sixth sense on how things will play out. Never doubt Mousethief.” There was doubt. Lots of doubt!

The car flew into a lumber yard. There were creatures already running away and screaming. I didn’t think I could take it anymore as fear gripped me. A primal instinct saying that I should run. I barely managed to keep my bladder under control. There was a massive snake towering over the warehouses. Its green scales gleaming in the sunlight. Its massive fangs dripping venom. Oh, god, the snake was going to kill me if the driving didn’t.

“Oh, a big one,” Mousethief said. “Your father’s got it. Don’t worry.” I noticed a black cat standing on top of a nearby warehouse. He ran along the warehouse towards the snake. Mousethief swerved the car to drive parallel to the building.

He hit a button and the sunroof began to open up on the car. Wind rushed in and messed up my fur. The snake lunged at my father. He twisted and spun, his claws lashing out. The massive snake appeared to unravel as he slid down with his paws cutting into its skin. The snake spun about, dark smoke pouring out of the wound. Mousethief swerved the car to avoid the tail. We hit a bump and the car leapt into the air along with my heart.

“Hahahaha!” He laughed as the car swerved around the massive snake, leaving a cloud of dust in our wake inside the lumber yard. Madness, this was complete madness!

My father leapt off the snake and landed on the roof of the car. It shook and then he dropped into the back seat breathing heavily. “All done?” Mousethief asked.

“Yep, the High Apostate is dead and got the talisman. The police can clean up the rest,” he calmly replied as he tossed shiny green snake shaped pendant onto the back seat. I glanced out the window. The snake had disappeared. I only saw the bloody form of Fleece on the ground as we sped away.

“Mittens,” my dad said. I tried to turn but the seat belt was holding me safely in place. He leaned forward. Somehow keeping his balance while the car bounced through the lumber yard.

“Dad,” I cried out and we hugged a bit. He nuzzled my head.

“Sorry about the drama. But work never ends,” he replied.

“I thought you were an ambassador’s assistant?” I finally asked as he let me go. I was trying to understand what was going on.

“How much did you tell her?” my father asked Mousethief.

“Nothing and she wanted to come. Got a bit turned around trying to find her. I swear these old cities can be a maze. Thankfully we can make our ship if I floor it,” Mousethief replied.

“Do what you need to and good work,” my father said.

“Don’t worry, you know Mousethief, always pulling through no matter the situation,” he replied as the car rapidly accelerated.

“Mittens. I am a professional assassin. I work for the Covenant Church cleaning up messes like you saw. Some heretics, some troublemakers, but it all lands in my lap eventually,” he replied.

“But…but…what about,” I didn’t know what to say and ask as I tried to process all of that while Mousethief drove the car like the giant snake was still after us.

“Don’t worry too much about it. Normally things aren’t this hectic, but when it rains it pours. Got diverted tracking down this cult, and then there was a High Apostate I had to finish off. Then they used a snake talisman to cause that headache back there. Then more heretics to the North. I ask for a month off and barely get two weeks, which I used to get back here, and then more work,” my father said.

The car swerved as we got back onto the highway. Mousethief seemed to take the blaring horns as encouragement to go even faster. “Worked to the bone, I swear,” Mousethief chimed in.

“Indeed. Well, now that I got you, that is one less thing to worry about Mittens,” my father said and reached out. I took his paw in mine.

“What happens to me now?” I asked.

“Now you can either get moved to a safe location to live your life. We probably won’t see each other much. Work keeps me quite busy. Or you can become my apprentice. It will be hard and painful-“

“I accept,” I said quickly before he could change his mind. “I am not going back to that group home.”

“Well you would go to a private boarding school. There would be other cats. The only reason you were in that city was that your mother grew up there and didn’t want to leave. You sure?”

“I am sure. It can be hard, difficult. It doesn’t matter,” I said. I was not getting left behind again. There was also the thought that as an assassin I would be killing people and getting EXP to get even stronger.

“If you say so. Just don’t forget you agreed to this. I won’t go easy since you are my daughter.” I didn’t like the sound of that, but I didn’t care. I was not letting my father leave me behind now that he had finally returned to save me.

“Tom Cat, we are coming in. You know where to go,” Mousethief said.

“Indeed, I do. Alright daughter, follow me,” my father said. The car swerved to a halt outside a fence, tires screeching. My father quickly went out the sunroof. I undid my seatbelt and followed after him carrying my bag. He leapt over the mesh wire fence with a Keep Out sign and I followed suit. I felt ungraceful as I stumbled after going over the fence.

The car sped away. Mousethief was insane to drive like that. “With me,” my father said, and he took off. I quickly followed him past various shipping containers. His black fur blending in with the shadows despite it being sunny outside.

We reached the end of the crates and there was a container ship in front of us. “Leap onto the anchor chain and go right up onto the ship. Try not to fall in the water,” he said. Before I could reply he raced off and leapt onto the anchor chain.

I quickly followed, my heart beating furiously in my chest. I leapt and grabbed the chain. My claws extended and dug in a bit. I felt a paw around my arm steadying me. My father was right there. “Now up,” he said, and we climbed up the chain and onto the ship. My Movement skill helping me understand and quickly improve on how to climb up a metal chain.

In less than a minute we had entered a shipping container. “Take a seat, Mousethief will be along with food once we get underway,” my father said. I took a seat and was just happy he was here.