Since he no longer had his pack with him and was injured, Caterwaul didn’t think much of his chances in a fight with this bruiser. The Felino was much bigger than Caterwaul and not hampered by a gammy leg. Caterwaul believed his best option was to run. Pivoting in an about-face, he fled back toward the window again.
“Why did it have to be so high up?” Caterwaul asked himself as he climbed up on the window ledge. One look back revealed his pursuer was closing in, so he closed his eyes and leaped out of the window and onto one of the moving wind panels. Surprisingly, he was able to get his footing quickly. The blade of the windmill had many small crevices he could sink his claws into to gain purchase.
Within seconds, he was in a good position to look back to the window. He noticed the bigger cat was already on the windowsill, hissing and ready to pounce on Caterwaul.
“Let’s get out of here,” said Pudding. There was a lot of commotion, and she figured it was only a matter of time before someone discovered what she had done to the two Felino soldiers. Feliz and Juan grabbed the limp bodies of the unconscious gangsters and dragged them toward the back of the cushion room. They completely covered both cats with pillows to hide them before returning to where the females stood.
Gerhard was now conscious, but in no condition to move, much less try to make a break for it. “Leave me,” he said. “Move me back into the other corner and cover me like you did those two leg-breakers,” he said. “I’ll try to stay quiet enough so that no one will notice me.”
The brothers carried Gerhard to the far corner, hiding him beneath the cushions, as he had requested. Still they were reluctant to leave their good friend unattended.
“Go on now, fellas. You got ladies need protecting,” said the injured cat. His head was all that remained uncovered. “Don’t worry about me, mates. I can take care of myself. You know this. So just go on and get those females to safety.” As they started moving back to the girls, they heard him talking to himself: “Now where the blazes did I leave my hat?”
Gerhard watched as his protectors headed out. He saw Muse step fully out into the light and noticed she had pure-white fur. “Wait ‘til Caterwaul gets a load of her,” he snickered aloud to himself. Smiling and shaking his head, he continued his one-sided conversation. “Very pretty . . . But she’s just a bit too skinny for me. I like ‘em with a lot more meat on their bones.” He ducked his head beneath the cushions and disappeared from sight.
“So which is the best way out?” Juan asked, turning toward Pudding. “I mean, so we can best slip away unnoticed.”
“Well, the front door is out, and the basement is sealed off. I suppose that the best route would be to see if the back door has opened up. The four cats tried to move as fast and silently as possible to where the rear exit was. They were in luck. It appeared to be clear.
“Come on. The door is unguarded,” purred Juan. He grabbed Pudding by the paw and pulled her forward. Pudding did the same to Muse, while Feliz guarded their rear.
Once all four cats had safely crossed the threshold to the outside, Pudding let out a sigh of relief. “We made it,” she said excitedly, grabbing Juan’s paw tightly in hers. “We’re free.” Just then, there was a sound like a whip, and the trap sprung. The four cats were pulled immediately skyward. They were all four caught in a large rope net.
From behind a tree stepped a medium-sized, gray-and-black stripy. He was chewing on a stem of long grass. Even with the lack of light the trapped cats could see that both his face and most of his upper body were covered in scars.
“Good evening, ladies and gents,” said the stripy cat arrogantly. “Allow me to introlucidate myself. My name is Meyer.”
Caterwaul snarled back at the Felino on the ledge, challenging him to follow. It was true that the gangster cat was a lot larger than he was, but Caterwaul was betting the big animal would be lacking when it came to agility and possibly courage too.
When the Felino hesitated to jump after him, Caterwaul knew he was right. The mob soldier continued to hiss, spit, and paw threateningly in his direction, but it was all a smoke screen. It was obvious that the big cat was afraid to follow him. Soon it became apparent to the Felino that he wasn’t fooling anyone with his faux ferocity. He then realized he could still call for help.
There were a number of family members outside the old windmill. When they heard one of their own calling out, they all looked up and saw what he was shouting about. Caterwaul, the reason they all had come here, was trapped on one of the windmill blades.
One of the grounded soldiers ran inside and within seconds he emerged with his capo. Lucius Felino Jr. smiled, giggling excitedly as he looked up to where his enemy was trapped on the blade above him. Since he now had Caterwaul cornered, Lucius Jr. lost interest in keeping those remaining party guests prisoner. As soon as he called his remaining men outside, the frightened guests bolted in all directions.
“How long do you actually think you can evade me by staying up on that windmill blade?” Lucius Jr. asked, laughing so loudly it could almost be called a howl. “It’s only a matter of time, my elusive friend, before you tire and fall or one of my men climbs up there and grabs you.” Caterwaul held on for dear life. He knew he was caught, but he wasn’t going to give up easily.
“What will I do with you once I have you? Hmmm? You know I’m thinking that I might eat you.” About a dozen eyes locked on Jr. in disbelief. Even his men were sickened by the thought. The fat kitten continued as his enormous belly rumbled. “I’ve never eaten another cat before. I wonder what it tastes like. It probably tastes like chicken. Isn’t that what they say? Everything strange and new tastes just like chicken?” He paused, then stared up at his quarry with an evil glare.
“You want to know something Caterwaul?” he shouted up at the windmill blade. “I’m quite fond of chicken. It’s delicious.” He turned to one of his men. “Get inside and find the locking mechanism that keeps those blades in place. I want you to release it. Let’s see how long our furry, black friend can stay balanced on that thing if it’s moving.”
Feliz unsheathed his massive claws and prepared to cut them free of the net. He looked around above him searching for the weak spot to slash.
“Oh, I wouldn’t do that if I were you. You might fall on your head and break your neck, or worse . . . you might end up seriously injuring one of your lovely lady friends.” Meyer rolled the stem of grass in his lips from one side of his mouth to the other. Feliz kept his claws drawn, and he snarled defiantly at his captor. Meyer was impressed by the set of daggers Feliz had jutting from his paws.
“Oh, put those horrible things away before you hurt yourself.” He grinned and stared straight into Feliz’s eyes.
“You want down? Put away those pig stickers, and I just might grant you your wish.” Feliz hesitated, and Meyer, who was losing patience, barked at him. “You heard me cat. I said claws, away . . . now!”
Feliz retracted his claws into his paws.
“Good,” said Meyer, “now we understand each other.” The stripy gangster whistled, and five more Felinos stepped into view. “Just so you don’t get any wild ideas,” he said. “Let ‘em down, Bugsy, and not too gently.”
It was only then that the trapped cats saw they were not suspended in the air by any device, but by one large and extremely powerful yellow cat. As they looked out from the net, they could see him clearly. He wasn’t even breaking a sweat. He held four fully grown felines aloft in a net and did it with ease. It was like their weight was nothing to this big yellow cat.
Bugsy let go of the rope, and the net fell to the ground. The cats landed with a thud. Feliz had been suspended upside down, so he landed on his back between his shoulder blades. He was glad that he had put away his claws.
The Felinos cleared away the net, and the four freed cats clambered to their feet. “Now I don’t want no funny stuff, you two,” said Meyer, addressing Feliz and Juan. “I hear you can fight. I advise you not to get any ideas. If you start acting crazy, Bugsy here
will rip you apart.
“And you . . . with that fine set of Christmas cutlery up your sleeve,” he was talking directly to Feliz now. “You might think that because you and me are about the same size you can take me on. Trust me you can’t. You make one move toward me, and I’ll kill ya quick. There’s lotsa cats buried in the dirt ‘round here that was bigger, stronger, faster, and a lot scarier than you are, cupcake. I put ‘em there . . .” he paused for a moment.
“I want you to look at me closely. Don’t be scared . . . I know I’m a beauty,” he said sarcastically. “Really take a good look at me. No cat gets a face like this without being in a whole lotta fights. And as pretty as I am . . . you should see the other guys. So play it cool, and these guys won’t have to bury any bodies tonight.”
He took two steps toward where Feliz was standing. “Oh yeah, and there’s one more thing, cupcake. You ain’t the only one here that’s carrying a conceited weapon.” He smiled widely, drawing back his gums to reveal an enormous set of fangs. “They say I’m a throwback to my prehysterical ancestors. You ever hear of a saber tooth tiger, cupcake?” He turned to address the girls.
“Now regardless to you, young ladies, I’ve been watchin’ botha you for a while now,” he said. “I must say, my little brown friend, you impressed the heck outta me the way you took out Zero and Carmine.” He started laughing loudly, “Those two are gonna be useless for weeks. Rocks in a pillow . . . that’s awesome. Gonna have to remember that one. Have to keep an extra close eye on you too.
“Which leads me to you, gorgeous,” he said, staring directly at Muse. “You sure are a looker. You’re my kinda gal. I would keep you all for myself if only my boss didn’t have plans for you. He’s got this scenario working, and you, my dear, get to play a starring role.”
Muse looked back at him horrified. She could hardly bear to look at his mangled features. This cat was frightening.
“You didn’t know I was watching you the whole time, did you?” he asked her. “You didn’t know that I was there hiding in the background, just watching as you and him held hands and you laid your head on his furry shoulder all romantic-like.” He flashed his enormous teeth at her, and she jumped back.
“My boss is absolutely dying to meet you, Muse. You’re gonna be the bait that draws Caterwaul right to us.”
21
The Crooner
Caterwaul held on tightly as the windmill blades began to move. Lucius Jr. was determined to bring him down from his high perch by whatever means necessary. As the blade started dipping toward the ground, Caterwaul inched his way toward the center and leaped across to the opposite one that was rising. As the new blade rose it came precariously close to the Felino on the windowsill. Caterwaul had to duck and slip down toward the hub to avoid being raked by his claws.
This went on for a good twenty minutes. Lucius Jr. screamed in frustration from the ground below. Twice he ordered his cats to climb up the stones covering the outside of the windmill, and both times, they fell back to earth after trying to grab onto one of the blades. The cats tried to knock him off by throwing stones at him, but Caterwaul either nimbly dodged them or, if they hit him, they weren’t enough to make him let go. He was hanging on for his very life.
Then the worst thing Caterwaul could imagine happened. A large group of Felinos emerged from inside the windmill, and with them, their collars chained together, were Pudding, Juan, and Feliz. His heart sank. His friends were nicked. Undoubtedly the underboss was going to use them as bargaining chips. He didn’t know what to do.
At least they didn’t have Muse, he thought. Maybe she had been able to slip away with the other cats when Jr. went outside. At least that was what he hoped had happened. But hope faded quickly as he saw Meyer on the ground below walking toward his employer. Even from high up, he knew it was Meyer. That jigsaw puzzle face of his was unmistakable. He held in his paw a rope noose, the business end of which was around the throat of a beautiful white cat, Muse.
They had her too. Bugsy walked behind Muse, as if to challenge anyone to try to free her. It was clear to Caterwaul he hadn’t really gotten the whole “Bugsy picture” that day out in the tall grass. The yellow cat was a monster. He had the right job as muscle for the Felinos. In fact, he had muscles on top of the muscles he took to work. Caterwaul realized it was only pure luck and his magical powder that had gotten him through that first encounter. He did not relish a rematch, especially not with his pack inaccessible, hanging in the old windmill.
Lucius Jr. yelled up at him. “Hey, Mr. Fancypants, time to knock off the hijinks.” He took the rope from Meyer and tugged it, causing the noose to tighten slightly around Muse’s throat. “You’re pretty good with the jumping around all willy nilly. I might put you on the road in the circus. That is, if I wasn’t going to kill ya.”
Caterwaul felt the windmill panels slow and then stop. One of the gangsters must have restored the braking mechanism. He turned around and dug his claws deep into the gaps in the blade. This gave him the best position possible to see what was going on below and avoid being knocked to the ground.
“It’s time for you and me to make a deal,” the mob boss hissed.
“If you hurt Muse or any of my friends, Jr., I swear I will tear you apart,” Caterwaul shouted back.
Lucius Jr. cackled at the thought. “Big talk, coming from a cat who won’t even come down here to face me. I tell you what . . . This is how it’s going to go. You are going to come down from there right now. If you try to stall, I will turn one of your friends over to Meyer and Bugsy. In fact, I have a good idea which one I’m going to give them first.” He tugged on the rope again, and Muse gasped.
“You have ten seconds . . . the clock is ticking. Tick tock tick tock.” On every tock, he jerked the noose a little tighter.
From his place up on the windmill, Caterwaul shook nervously. “All right, Jr., you win. Just please don’t hurt her,” he implored the Felino below. “I’m coming down right now.”
Just to make clear that he was the one in charge, Lucius Jr. gave one more tug on the rope tightening the noose a little more. “Quit wasting my time,” he shouted, “and get your tail down here.”
Caterwaul was beaten. He had no choice. If he didn’t surrender himself to this insane cat, his friends would be seriously hurt. He scrambled down the windmill blades and jumped to the ground.
“Okay, I’m here. Now let my friends go.” Two family members immediately grabbed him by his front legs.
Lucius Jr. grinned. “Oh no . . . not just yet. They are going to stand here and watch what I’m going to do to you.”
Muse was crying. “I’m so sorry, Caterwaul,” she whimpered, “for getting you caught like this.”
“It’s not your fault, Muse, it’s mine. I should have taken care of this bully the first time we met.”
“Yeah, but you didn’t,” snapped Jr. “And now I am gonna get riddaya for good.” With every word, spray flew from his mouth. He was quaking with excitement. Whenever Lucius Jr. became extra excited, the drool came. Right now he was positively raving, and the saliva poured like a waterfall from the corners of his open mouth.
“Bugsy,” he howled, “you got dibs.”
Bugsy lumbered forward smiling. “I’m gonna hurt you now.” He did not even draw his claws. This was going to be an old-fashion beat down. Bugsy drew back and slammed Caterwaul in his exposed chest with an open paw. The other Felinos let go because they wanted to watch Bugsy dismantle him one blow at a time.
Caterwaul, the wind knocked out of him, couldn’t even muster the energy to defend himself. The enormous mobster grabbed him under the front legs and flung him, end over end, against a tree.
“This is way too easy,” said Lucius Jr. “Come on now, Caterwaul. This isn’t what I expected from the guy who just flattened three of my best guys. Fight back, you coward.”
“Actually, it was four, you miserable waste of meat, but who’s counting.” Caterwaul remained defiant. He realized he was getting creamed,
but he was not going to give his foe any satisfaction by acknowledging it. Pushing himself up onto his feet, he sprang toward the big yellow cat. Bugsy stepped aside, grabbed him by his neck skin, and flipped him over like a kitten’s plaything.
“I know what might make you fight better,” spewed the underboss. “Hey Meyer . . . You always had a thing for white cats. Take her, my gift to you, for your years of loyal service to the Felino family.”
He handed the rope to his lieutenant. Meyer flashed his saber teeth and started leading Muse back inside the windmill. She was horrified. But if she tried to pull away, the noose drew tighter about her throat.
“If he so much as touches her, Felino, I will end you. I will end every last one of you,” Caterwaul said, enraged.
“Merely hot air, my friend,” said the corpulent cat. “Look at yourself. You can’t get past Bugsy. You don’t have the stuff to beat even one of my crew. You’d need an army to beat us all.”
Then from out of nowhere, Caterwaul heard singing. It was beautiful.
“Foolish cats rush in, where kittens fear to tread . . . ”
Lucius Jr. lost his train of thought. Suddenly everybody stopped what they were doing to listen to the melodious voice.
At that moment, a white cat appeared on the ridge overlooking the fray. It was Frankie, the white male that Caterwaul rescued from Warwick Vane Bezel III. And he brought company. It was he who sang. Surrounding the crooner on both sides, there were cats—and lots of them. Caterwaul estimated there were at least fifteen, maybe even twenty cats with him. They all remained silent and motionless as the crooner sang the rest of the verse.
From his place on the ridge Frankie called to the Felinos below. “Did I hear somebody mention an army? Because gentlemen, the kitty cavalry has arrived.”
Frankie signaled for his cats to attack. They had the mobsters outnumbered three to one. But the Felinos were big cats and used to fighting, so the odds were pretty even. Still, Frankie brought some tough customers with him. The outcome was in no way certain.
The Adventures of Caterwaul the Cat Page 15