by Henrik Tamm
“Exactly like that, yes. Yes, that’s it.” Timmy looked foolishly at the others. “I’m Timmy, and this is Simon, Jasper, and Casper.” The others smiled and waved awkwardly.
“And aren’t ninjas supposed to have swords or throwing stars and stuff like that?”
“We have other cool stuff. Much cooler stuff, actually.”
She looked them over. “Yeah, nice stick.”
Timmy looked at his stick. He hadn’t yet quite figured out how to make it work.
“It’s actually rather nice” was all he could muster.
The cat girl regarded the four friends for a moment, then looked at the dust settling around her flying machine. Her voice changed as she made an effort to sound at least a little polite.
“Well, it was nice meeting you ninja chaps, but I’m outta here. You all have a splendid evening now.”
With that, she turned and started to walk away.
“Wait!” Timmy couldn’t let her just go off like that.
“What?” She tried her best to sound annoyed, but Timmy could hear a hint of curiosity in her tone. That was enough for him.
“You have a name?”
“Flores. That’s my name.”
She had meant to just stay nonchalant and aloof. But this cat seemed quite harmless. Maybe he was even a cool cat after all. Well, maybe not cool, but kind of cute. Well, maybe not cute, but interesting. In a silly way. Especially with his headband.
“Well, Flores.” Timmy felt his courage come back. “We patrol the streets in this part of town, looking for any thieves, bad street gangs, or troublemakers. If you see any suspicious activity, can you let us know? We hang out at the old toy shop, five or six blocks over.”
Timmy tried to nod casually in the direction of Alfred’s shop. He made a mental note to reassess the coolness factor of his outfit. Perhaps the headbands hadn’t been such a great idea. Still, he thought that maybe he had pulled off looking just a little like he actually knew what he was doing.
Flores smiled at him.
“All right, kids,” she said. “I’ll remember that until I forget it. You go play night watch, and maybe I’ll see you when I see you.”
She was too cool for school, this one, Timmy thought. Yet he liked her much more than he wanted to.
He watched her saunter off, leaving her machine parked in the street. When she was gone, he turned to the others.
“Well, kids, I reckon we’ve done all we can do tonight.”
He tried to sound cool, but the others just smiled at him.
They started walking back through the streets. Timmy looked at his newly formed ninja gang, and although the evening had been a bit of a mess, he was still proud of them. And of himself. He wondered if he would ever see Flores again. What a girl! Such a radical cat…quite the rebel, and oh so beautiful. She would never go for an inventor street cat like him. It was a ridiculous thought.
But now he was a ninja cat! And they had some truly radical gear! Magical, even! (Even if they hadn’t really gotten to use the gear much.) His mind raced.
Simon came up alongside him. “You did all right,” he said with a smile.
“With what?”
“What do you think? With the girl, stupid.”
“I did? I thought I botched it pretty bad.”
“Well, you botched it, all right, but somehow it worked for you. I notice these things. I’m actually a little proud of you.”
“You are?”
“Yep. You have a long way to go before you’re as smooth as I am, but it wasn’t bad. For a cat, anyway.”
Timmy was suddenly glad that his face was covered with fur, so Simon couldn’t see him blushing. He smiled at his old friend. He knew it had taken a lot for Simon to admit that.
They walked in silence through the empty streets. But all the way back to the shop, Timmy kept thinking about Flores. He had never met anyone like her before, and he couldn’t quite decide how he felt about her. Trying to be logical, he figured she might make a great addition to the gang, what with her flying machine and all. He even tried to introduce the idea to the others on the way, but they just laughed at him. They knew what was up.
Still, Timmy couldn’t let go of the thought.
Chapter 7
OVER HOT TEA, they discussed the evening’s events. It was already quite late, but Timmy wanted to go through it all while it was still fresh in their memories.
“It might be better to separate and patrol one block each so we could cover more ground,” suggested Casper.
Simon objected. “We’re much stronger together. We’d lose precious time if we were too spread out to hear each other.”
Timmy agreed. Separating would work if they had something to communicate with, like a little device they could speak into that would let them hear each other’s voices, but nothing like that had ever been invented.
So they all agreed that staying together was still the way to go. Jasper thought it would be good to get higher up so they could watch a bigger area. But how were they going to do that? Casper brought out his notepad and calculated that they could be 5.65 degrees Celsius more effective with a higher vantage point.
Of course Timmy thought of Flores’s flying machine, which would be great to patrol with, but he didn’t mention it because of how his friends had all laughed at the idea before. He thought the others would just assume that he’d brought it up because he liked her, and even though it was clear that she was tough and smart too, Timmy knew they were probably right. So he didn’t say anything more.
Alfred sat listening to them talk. He would get up to make more tea and come back with a new pot, always with some freshly baked cookies to go with it.
In the end, they all agreed to pretty much stick to the plan. They would keep the nighttime patrols, stay together, pick a different section of town each night, and stay vigilant.
But they might lose the headbands.
It was three nights later that their new careers as crime fighters formally began. At sundown they set out, keeping to the rooftops and trying the best they could to stay out of sight. They would jump from building to building, or crawl along the steam pipes that lay across the roofs if the distance between buildings was too far to jump. Jasper and Casper had a good advantage and often took the lead, being able to jump long distances with their magic clogs.
This night started like the others. At first, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. They stopped on the roof of a café they all knew. Each one took a corner and watched for anything unusual.
Simon, with his goggles, suddenly looked around and motioned to the others. As they scurried over, he pointed toward the ground. And there, just at the next corner, stood an old dog. He was holding a large basket covered with a blanket. They all knew who the dog was: his name was Humphrey. He was a popular musician at the local restaurants and would often wander the streets with his ukulele, playing a song for anyone who would give him a penny.
“I can see five figures moving in on him,” Simon said. He quickly let the others take peeks through his goggles. And indeed, when they could see through the buildings, they could see five rather large characters slowly sneaking up on poor old Humphrey.
“The Gribbles?” Timmy asked.
“Looks like it. Wonder what it is he’s carrying. Must be something they want.”
“Something they think they can sell,” Casper added.
“I really hate the Gribbles,” Jasper piped up.
“Let’s move.” Timmy hurried over to the edge of the building. The others followed. They had practiced this kind of scenario with Alfred’s help, and everyone knew what to do. Using the fire escape, they quickly made their way down to the street and took their positions. Simon went left around the block, Jasper and Casper went right, and Timmy started moving up the middle, toward where they had seen Humphrey.
They were in the nick of time: they could hear old Humphrey suddenly start to howl and bark. Timmy was there first, as a ninja leader should be.
> Indeed, it was the Gribbles. Humphrey was too old to try to run but was hanging on to his basket like it was worth its weight in gold. He was surrounded.
Timmy strode toward them, trying to appear confident. “Hey!” he shouted.
The second after he did so, he suddenly realized what a bad idea it had probably been. Who did he think he was? He was barely two feet tall, wearing a black outfit (still with his headband on) and carrying a walking stick. What could he possibly do?
These thoughts struck him all at once as he watched the Gribble cousins turn in his direction and grin. Timmy was scared. Really scared. And he hated violence. Why not just talk out a problem? That seemed like the only way to solve it. Unfortunately, the Gribbles weren’t much for talking. And even if he hated violence, he was about to step knee-deep into it, frightened beyond his wits.
But then he saw Humphrey’s face, the poor old soul. He saw how relieved he was that anybody gave a hoot, that anybody would stand up for him. It gave Timmy strength, and it gave him the courage he needed.
It was clear that the Gribbles recognized him. The fear still darted around in his heart. But then he heard familiar voices from the left and right.
“Hey!” Simon yelled from the left.
“Hey!” Jasper and Casper shouted in unison from the right.
The momentary confusion that this generated in the Gribbles was enough for the four friends to gain the advantage.
The Gribbles were still more than twice as tall as any of them and probably outweighed them four to one. But none of that mattered.
As the cousins spun around, trying to figure out what was happening, Jasper and Casper had already leapt up into the air, and Simon was jumping and rolling straight into the middle. As for Timmy, he finally got a taste of what his magic cane was capable of.
It was as if it followed his thoughts. When he wanted it to be ten feet long, it was. When he wanted it to divide into four prongs, it did. When he wanted it to spin around like blades from one of the flying machines, it was already spinning. Timmy was amazed. Simon moved with the speed of lightning, striking with his made-up ninja poses. And he looked good doing it. He must have practiced in secret, Timmy thought. Probably in front of a mirror. The Gribbles simply couldn’t keep up.
Yes, there was some bruising going on, and yes, violence is a bad thing, and even the four friends got a few scrapes and bumps, but in the end the Gribbles decided that enough was enough and ran away for the first time in their lives.
As the blur of the fight subsided and Timmy was trying to get his breath back, good old Humphrey stood there in awe. He looked at Timmy and the others, and the expression in his eyes was enough to convey the gratitude he felt. But even so, he bowed his head to all of them.
“Thank you all. Where did you come from?”
Timmy pointed to the rooftops.
“We are going to make a change in this town.” Timmy felt proud. “My name is Ninja Timmy, and this is my gang.”
“Ninja Timmy?”
“That’s right. Ninja Timmy. Spread the word.”
“Aren’t ninjas bad?”
“Well, we’re good ninjas. With cooler gear than regular ninjas. Much cooler. Like this cane. Now spread the word.”
Humphrey was a little confused but very grateful, so he let it go.
“Okay, I will. And thank you!”
He nodded to all of them. Humphrey was about to go, when Simon asked, “What were you carrying that they wanted so badly?”
“Oh, this?” Humphrey lifted the blanket from the basket. Inside, looking up with a yawn and a smile, was an adorable puppy.
“My son.”
“Oh.”
“I can’t imagine why they would want him, though.”
Timmy exchanged glances with the others. They could. Another attempted kidnapping. This was bad. Somebody was after the kids in this town.
Humphrey thanked them again, tipped his hat, and walked off down the street.
When he had left, Simon turned to Timmy:
“Ninja Timmy? And his gang? I thought we were doing this together!”
“Of course we are. I just…I don’t know…wanted us to have a name. Like an official one.”
“Well, think of another one. Perhaps one that includes all our names?”
“Timmy, Simon, Jasper, and Casper’s Gang of Ninjas? That’s awfully long and not very nice-sounding,” Timmy objected.
“We can probably think of something better than that. And why would your name be first anyway? I am by far the handsomest member of this group, so if anyone should be the front figure, it should be me.”
“Or,” said Casper, “why not Casper, Jasper, Simon, and Timmy’s Gang of Ninjas? I’m the smartest, so I should be first.…” At this, of course, Jasper jabbed him in the side, glared at him, and objected wildly that he was far smarter.
They argued like this all the way to the toy shop, and finally agreed that they would try to come up with a better name. But Simon and the others were still a little upset about the whole thing. It was a shame, because the night’s mission had gone so perfectly. They had successfully stopped a crime and had chased off the big, bad Gribble cousins, their archenemies. Timmy thought it was pretty cool that they now had archenemies. Maybe even Flores would be impressed. He didn’t quite know why it would be good to impress Flores, but he wanted to. He thought of her often and wondered if they’d ever see each other again.
Chapter 8
THE ANSWER TO that question came the next day. It was just before noon, and Timmy was still asleep in the back room at Alfred’s toy shop. They had gotten back very late, and he was tired from the previous night’s adventures. Alfred softly shook him awake. With a mumbled groan, Timmy turned away, pulling his blanket tight.
“Timmy, wake up. There’s someone here asking for you,” Alfred said.
“Who is it?” Timmy protested. He just wasn’t ready to get up yet.
“Go see for yourself.”
Still a little groggy, Timmy finally made himself get up. He stumbled, half-asleep, into the shop area. And there, standing with her back to him, looking at all the toys, was Flores. She turned around as he came in.
“Hey, there you are,” she said.
“What’s up?” Timmy tried to sound suave, swallowing his surprise.
“So is this your headquarters or what? Got some pretty rad stuff in here.”
Timmy was quite astonished, and at the same time thrilled to see her.
“Thanks, but it’s not our shop. We just hang out here. It belongs to Alfred, the toymaker.”
“The old human dude?”
Timmy couldn’t quite picture Alfred as a “dude,” but he didn’t want to argue about it.
“Yes.”
Flores picked up one of the toys, studying it curiously.
“Be careful with that. It’s magical.”
“Magical? That’s interesting.” She put it down again. “So anyway, you mentioned that I should let you know if I saw anything suspicious in town. And, well, I have. I guess it’s been going on for a while, but I’ve noticed it more lately.”
“What’s going on?”
“Kind of hard to explain, but it’s all these kids. Both animal and human. They can’t laugh anymore. They just kind of stand there with an odd grin when they’re supposed to laugh. I know it sounds really weird, but I’ve never seen anything like it. I thought maybe you guys would like to know, being ninja crime fighters and all that.”
Simon, Jasper, and Casper had now also come into the room, and Alfred hovered in the background. They looked at each other. Alfred stepped forward and spoke softly:
“I think we better have this conversation in the back.”
They all followed Alfred into the room at the back of the shop. Sitting on boxes and on the workbenches, they gathered in a circle. Alfred spoke first.
“Flores, you’re not the only one who’s seen this happening. We’ve all noticed it, and we think it’s getting worse. Can you tell us
where these kids were?”
“This last time it was in the alleys behind the air-balloon station. And I also saw it in the ice cream shop on the main square.”
Alfred shuffled over to an ancient bookcase, searched one of the crammed shelves for a minute, and pulled out an old hand-drawn map of Elyzandrium. He unfolded it and placed it on the dusty floor, then pointed to it with his stubby finger.
“The air-balloon station is here, and the main square is here.” Alfred’s finger came down and indicated the spots as he spoke. “Timmy, you saw the same thing here; and Simon, Jasper, and Casper, you noticed it around the baker’s shop, here, and also around here. I saw it here and here.”
He marked all the places with copper coins. They looked at the coins. They formed a shape almost like a circle.
“Now look. Do you see what I see?”
They all nodded. Flores’s paw pointed to the area in the middle of the coins.
“Assuming that there is someone who is somehow stealing these children’s laughter, he would send his gangs out to collect the kids in all directions, wouldn’t he?”
“Or she,” Timmy interjected.
Flores ignored him and studied the map more closely. In the area in the middle of the coins were several large structures joined together. They were surrounded by a tall wall.
“What is this?” Flores asked.
Alfred leaned in to get a closer look.
“An old factory. It’s been abandoned for years. The wall makes it impossible to see inside from the street. And one of the structures is very tall. A good hiding spot.”
Timmy slowly stood up.
“I think it’s time we took a closer look at that factory.” He turned to Flores. “Flores, your flying machine could come in handy. It would give us a good view of the area. May we borrow it?”