Guardian Cats and the Lost Books of Alexandria

Chapter 38: Spying on cats

Lazer, the renegade raccoon who had befriended Sting, stood outside the raccoons’ camper and toyed with the leash around the sleeping ferret’s neck. He was pleased to see Sting had captured him. Pleased to know just how far the raccoon would go.

He banged on Sting’s door. Crimmany opened it and stuck his head out. “What do you want?”

“Sting here?” asked Lazer.

“Yeah. So?”

“So! Let me talk to him," barked Lazer.

“Sting!” yelled Crimmany, back inside the camper.

“What!”

“Somebody’s here to see you.”

Sting appeared as a silhouette, filling the frame of the door. "Hey, Lazer!"

"Hey. How's it going, Sting?"

"Not so good. Come on in."

Lazer climbed into the camper shell and made himself comfortable on shreds of what had been a mattress. “What happened?”

"You never told me the library was full of books! Then that mangy orange cat who keeps buttin’ his head in my business showed up. And that useless critter I got tied up outside. What am I? A pet sitter? Dang animal sure is a pack of trouble. Only thing he might be good for is some kind of bribe.”

“I like the way you think, Sting.”

Sting shook his head. “Well, I sure never got that book you was talking about. It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack.”

"Hmmm. Well, you did one good thing. The cats are all riled up.”

"Yeah, that’s always a good thing," said Sting. “By the way, where you been?"

"I work undercover, like I told you. Spying on cats."

"Yeah? Seems like a boring job. What for?"

"I have my reasons," said Lazer. "One thing I do know… the cats are worried that you'll steal their big-deal book. They are trying to figure out what to do with it. That means they're likely to move it somewhere." It was a lie, but Lazer had no problem with lying.

"Yeah. So."

"If we can catch them in the act, it'll be a piece of cake."

"We? What's with this 'we' business? Why should I bother?" asked Sting.

“You like having these scruffy strays in your face all the time? Can’t you see there’s something wrong with them? These cats are not normal."

"You're telling me."

"It's their magical powers. They get it from this book, I tell you. Get it away from them, and you won't have any more problems."

"Why don't you deal with them? Why are you asking me?"

Lazer hung his head. "Take a good look at me. I was the runt in my family. They didn't even expect me to live. I’ve got a good head, but physically… you tell me. You think I could handle these cats?”

“You have a point.”

“I need someone like you and your crew. Tough guys.”

Sting lit up. "We can handle 'em for sure. Right, boys?"

"Right!" agreed Tank and Crimmany.

Sting paced the length of his truck bed, his center of operations. The other raccoons kept still while he plotted. After a good while, he stopped thinking and gave an order.

“Crimmany, front and center,” he said. “I need you to deliver a message."