Cats Forever

Chapter 1. Mungojerrie's flying solo.

It was dusk. Toasty orange hues of the sunset were painted across the sky, the odd splatter of a milky white cloud was littered here or there but it did not ruin the picture and the cool of the night could be felt over the horizon. For an hour now, Mungojerrie had been waiting in the shadowy depths of an alley, his gaze was fixed on a warehouse across the street. A new shipment of jewelry had been delivered that same day, ready to be sent to the shops and he was determined to get his paws onto some of it, at the very least a bracelet. He was to wait until nightfall before making his move and slipping into the warehouse.

This one time he was flying solo, in fact his partner in crime and sister, Rumpleteazer, didn't know he was even out this evening. It was risky to be out alone in these parts at such a late time, it was Macavity's roaming grounds, his henchcats could be anywhere and if they caught Mungojerrie he'd be dead meat. But come to think of it, nobody had really heard much of the Mystery Cat's whereabouts for nearly five now...'is fight wit Caligo mustah really done ah numbah on 'im, Mungojerrie chuckled as the thought passed through his mind. Quickly remembering why he was there, he shook his head to rid himself of the distracting thoughts and focused back on the humans whom were trudging in and out of the grey bricked building.

Large wooden crates were being hauled from a giant human transport machine, a lorry as he had heard someone call it. Each crate was branded with a big red 'FRAGILE' stamp or a thick arrow and 'THIS WAY UP'. Mungo wanted to find the most valuable crate, nab what he could and scram. He knew this was a risky operation to carry out alone.

Eventually, the last crate of jewelry was placed inside the warehouse and the human who carried it emerged and dusted off his hands. "That's the last of it." The human man grunted to his colleague.

"Eright, lock it up. I need a pint." The other waved dismissively before trudging away. The first worker chuckled to himself before turning to the lever that was fixed onto the wall, he gave it a tug and the main doors creaked to life and slowly closed from each side. Once they had clamped shut, the human jogged away to catch up with the other, not taking a single glance back.

"Bingo!" Mungojerrie cackled, the calico tom hopped down from his perch and scampered out of the alley, across the street and right up to the doors. Being a cat, he knew there would be no way in through those huge doors, but he had noticed a side window earlier on in the day. Luckily for him, that window was open just enough for the cat burglar to slip inside.

A single florescent light still remained on in the building, but being a Jellicle cat the dark was not a problem for Mungojerrie, it was getting into the crates that was the issue. Just swiping at the wood was clearly not going to do much in this situation. "Oh Pollicle!" The tom hissed as he stepped back in thought, how in the Heaviside Layer was he supposed to get into this bloody crate?!

"Y'know mate, scratchin' ain't gonna get ya very far." A foreign voice sounded from behind, the accent was that of a thick Australian's- at least that's what Mungo identified it as. The calico tom whipped around only to be greeted by thin air.

"Alright Gov, show yerself and there'll be nah trouble." Mungojerrie warned as he unsheathed his claws. Whomever was hiding in the shadows gave a short scoff before stepping into the dim light.

"'Ello there." A large grey tom with dull yellow eyes faced Mungo, a smirk was plastered to the new tom's muzzle. His arms were folded across his broad chest and his frame loomed over the calico Jellicle, he had to be at least a head taller.

"Evenin'." Mungojerrie uttered, wary of this cat's presence. "So what are yeh? Guard cat?"

"Quite the opposite really." The tom shrugged, his colloquial accent dropped, only a hint of Australian remained, his tongue was more refined and he spoke properly compared to Mungojerrie. "Just here to do another's work, and by the looks of it we are after the same thing."

"Is tha' so?" Mungojerrie meowed skeptically, raising a brow at the tom. Neither advanced any further, staying within a comfortable distance. "What's yer name?"

"Angelo." He responded swiftly. "Yours?" For a moment, Mungojerrie contemplated on giving his name, this bloke could be any cat, a henchcat for Macavity? Bloody likely knowing his luck.

"I'd rather not give yeh me name right now."

"Fair enough, mate." Angelo shrugged again. Without another word, the larger tom strode towards the crate and gave it a once over, his brows furrowed in thought and a claw tapped at his chin. "We'll need a crowbar."

"We?" Mungo spluttered.

"Yeah mate, I am assuming you want to get in that thing, otherwise you wouldn't 'ave been scratchin' about. Both of us mate, want somethin' from inside. To get it, we shall need a crowbar." Angelo mused with a triumphant grin. "I'll be right back." The grey tom stalked away leaving Mungojerrie nearly speechless. Angelo sniffed around for a moment in a box of tools that had been discarded outside a small office, he dove in to retrieve the correct tool and then returned to Mungojerrie with a hefty crowbar in tow. "C'mon mate, two man job!"

"Right." The calico tom grunted as he snapped into action. Carefully, Angelo tucked the end of the crowbar into the edge of the nailed shut crate, he stepped back slightly motioning for Mungojerrie to grab hold of the end. Together, the toms hoisted up onto the bar, laying all of their weight down. There was a sharp crack and the ply wood splintered away, one square side of the crate fell off, revealing little navy blue jewelry boxes.

Angelo gave a grin of satisfaction, letting his tongue run over his sharp fangs. "Excellent." He chuckled as he opened up a couple of the boxes. "All diamond bracelets."

Mungo's ears pricked up at the mention of diamonds and he rapidly helped himself to an armful or so of the boxes. He loaded them into a cloth sack with odd patches before turning to Angelo. "Well cheers for the 'elp Gov, I'll be on me way." He extended a paw in gratitude. As Angelo grasped hold of it and gave it a firm shake, his once dull yellow eyes glinted with an accomplished sheen.

"Pleasure workin' with ya mate, my boss'll be 'appy with all this."

Mungo's mind began to wander. "Who is yeh boss?" He queried.

"Ah now I can't really say pal, but you should meet the chap one day, good bloke. Takes care of his people." Angelo explained with a genuine smile which never faltered. Just as Mungojerrie was about to stride away, he turned back to the grey tom.

"Me names Mungojerrie, by the way."

Angelo nodded slowly. "See ya, Jerrie." With that he disappeared back into the shadows.