The Favor

Usual Suspects Copyright Mr. Simon Barber

used with permission

The first year shrew Alpha Rote stopped several yards away from a busy third year dorm. This one was currently tinkering with a radio for some arcane reason. In the shrews right paw she held an envelope, one addressed to a very specific and very difficult to locate address. Steeling herself one last time the shrew took a deep breath before advancing. Facing down a multi-tentacled slime monster with nothing more than a miniature Telsa coil and two wooden chopsticks was one thing, a full third year dorm was quite another. She could get seriously hurt if she over stepped her place. These were third years, they were Goddess’s incarnate compared to a first year like herself. Yet she had a mission to complete and she had given Nance her word. Releasing her breath she stepped forward.

“Shrews made her move” Maria whispered as she carefully ground away at a vacuum tubes glass nipple, her aim to open just a tiny hole and let air into the device, thus ruining it. “Should I break her?”

“She’s married to tha squirrel” Molly added. “Mah pleasure.”

“Ladies” Amelia countered, though before her were no ladies. Herself included she had to admit, much to her own sorrow. With her companions silenced Amelia finished her careful destruction of an electrolytic capacitor by removing the tiny pin she had shoved through its end, thus shorting the device internally. Accepting Maria’s ruined vacuum tube she replaced it in the radio. “Should be an excellent test for Red Dorm” the English feline decided. They were closing the case when Alpha stopped almost exactly ten feet away from them (though it would have taken a surveyors best efforts to prove Alpha was more or less than ten feet from Helen’s back.)

“Lady Allworthy” Alpha asked. Her voice betraying her nervousness. “May I speak with Miss Procyk. Please?”

Amelia almost lost her temper at the name Allworthy. Still, something inside calmed her, perhaps it was the deep respect the shrew had used when she had called the Englishwoman Lady Allworthy. Turning away from the damaged radio she studied Alpha. Before her stood a young woman who obviously had never had any grooming training, though Amelia well knew that Madam Maxines had done their best several times. Still it took time for chemically damaged fur to grow out so short of shaving the shrew bald it would just take time for that shattered fur to recover. Yet in those eyes was respect. Respect for Amelia as a third year along with her title. So much had her priestess training given her the feline realized, she started to speak when Helen stepped forward.

“Why yah’all want tah approach Lady Allworthy” the wildcat asked.

“Please” Alpha answered. “Need ask Molly large favor. Molly is Lady Allworthy’s servant. I must have Lady Allworthy’s permission to speak to her servant.”

Behind Amelia the Italian bovine Maria snickered and turned away. Even with her back to the shrew Maria could barely keep from bellowing out in her amusement. Molly though watched everything carefully. Alpha was married to a woman but she was one of THOSE! Thus she was dangerous and Molly, as all gun molls, only knew one certain way to deal with danger. Her right paw dropped to the blade she carried there.

Turning to Amelia Helen winked. “Lady Allworthy, this here unworthy want’s tah jaw with yah.”

Amelia caught the general mood, deciding it was worth it to go along with it this time. “Very well. You may approach Mrs. Rote. Helen, please do not gut her unless I tell you too.”

Shivering in more than a little fear, for she had heard the stories about third years. Especially these four. Why Ada had let slip stories... Stopping beside the Texas wildcat Alpha cleared her throat. “Lady Allworthy. Please. Is my desire have subscription to certain magazine. But subscription, it requires signature of another current subscriber.”

“And what” Amelia asked in her most imperious tone. “Would that magazine be?”

“Criminal World” Alpha admitted. “I found copy in trash. Has very exciting suggestions. Some I will experiment with. Subscription form, it requires a current subscribers co-signature.”

Amelia held back a smile at those words. Molly had always burned her copies, apparently one had slipped away without her knowledge, probably with the help of a certain mouse. “Why not ask Beryl?”

“Please Miss Allworthy” Alpha almost whispered. “I like my soul.”

Molly did giggle at that line, though not quite loud enough for Alpha to hear. Her paw had just moved away from her blades hilt when Amelia turned around to speak to her. “Molly my dear, is there any reason Mrs. Rote should not be allowed to subscribe to that publication?”

“Her wife” Molly admitted.

“Ah yes. The Sleuth. Tell me dearest Molly, which would strengthen your cause the greater. Mrs Rote having access to inside information, thus culling the less intelligent of your comrades. Or Mrs Rote stumbling about in the darkness striking blindly at every target she sees.”

“If onna those targets was Beryl” Molly admitted. “Alpha, bring that form. Ah’ll sign it but this is ah favor yer askin. Yah have to know, in my world all favors get repaid.”

“Yes Miss Procyk. I do understand” the shrew agreed. She stepped over to Molly, carefully giving Amelia a wide berth. Offering the envelope and a pen to Molly she waited as the doe took both, laying them on the radios case to sign the form, then Molly added a little symbol. To Alpha it would mean nothing, to the editors it said that Molly was who she claimed to be. A tiny twisted line just below that symbol told the publishers that Alpha was a Scientist while the first was a symbol only the Procyk family knew, which now meant only Molly and her father. Returning the items Molly studied the little shrew. “When ah ask yah to repay this favor shrew you do so. Or I’ll personally yank yer little eyes out of yer head and feed them to yah. Capish?”

“Capish?” Alpha asked.

“She means little shrew. Do you understand and accept her terms” Amelia explained.

“Oh yes. I do. Yes I do” Alpha answered. She bowed to Molly, knowing now that she was in the doe’s debt. Then she bowed even deeper to Amelia before turning and running off with her precious papers. She had barely gotten out of earshot when all four lost control.

When Helen could finally breath again she wiped her tear filled eyes. “And what, dear Molly, are you gonna demand in payment.”

Molly took several deep breaths, regaining control of her own amusement. “I’ve been playin Amelia’s maid. Maybe its time someone played my maid. For ah week or three. Just fer fun yah understand. Someones gotta teach that shew how tah curtsy among other things, ahn she already attends Madam Maxines.”

“What” Maria asked. “No head of the mouse that loves you? No eyes of the sleuth? No heart of Kansas Smith? Your slippin Molls.”

Leaning against a nearby tree Molly looked back the way Alpha had gone. “Its not tha big a debt Maria” she admitted. “Smith is mine, when she recovers from what tha witch did to her. Ahn I saw how Alpha looked at Amelia, how she kept herself respectful. That means ah lot in tha families. Respect. Damn little of it in first years. Good to find someone who understands it.” She took another deep breath. “Nootnops Blue anyone? Ahm buying.”

A little later Alpha reached Casino Islands postal office. In her paws was a much larger envelope. Nested within that envelope were four more. Though the outer envelope was addressed, the inner four had only her return address and a first class stamp. They would be addressed by others, others the shrew most likely would never know. Even the last envelope was not her missives final destination. It was a blind drop, from there the last envelope would be paw carried to a certain fur who would open it, check it for the subscription form and postal money order then paw deliver its contents across town to yet another fur. Once there Alpha’s name would be listed in a certain book. Soon one Doctor Zarahoff would start receiving copies of Criminal World to her very private Casino Island Post Office box.