Oh Rats!

Rowan jumped up to the top of the stacked milk jug cartons. Buggs gave a piercing whistle for all the room went quiet. "They're listening Boss." Buggs informed their leader.

Rowan spit to one side and balanced on his hind feet, wrapping his toes around one of the struts in the carton for stability. "You know why we're here." He watched the heads nod. "The Cheese factory has hired workers to remodel the factory and they've closed all the entries into the building. We need to get in there. Stealing cheese is what we do." He thumped his furry chest. "We have a business here and it looks like its being taken away from us!" He smacked his paw into the flat of his other palm. "We can't let this happen! We're going to fight to keep our territory. Now get out there and find a way back into the building. Buggs will give you your assignments."

Paws and tails waved. The mass of bodies made their way down the dark alley to the street and across to the fence surrounding the Acme Cheese Factory. Buggs divided them into groups and they headed towards the now quiet construction site.

Rowan led his group to the newly constructed brick wall. They walked the perimeter looking for some small area to squeeze through or make wider.

Buggs froze and his tail went straight into the air. The rest of the group froze in step behind him. The tail bent to the left and every head turned, ears perked. The sound of soft scrabbling over loose rocks could be heard. Buggs divided the group sending each in a different direction to surround whatever was in front of them.

Rowan followed Buggs toward the noise. Buggs gave a nod of his head in the direction of an area under a tarp. The only guard they had was leaning against a board cleaning himself with a piece of broken wood. Buggs pounced and landed on the cubby guy's tail. He squeaked in surprise but the paw of Buggs pressed the air out of him and he gasped and went quiet.

Rowan motioned for his group to follow and they entered the dark area of the tarp. "Light up men!" Rowan ordered and they switched on their head lamps.

The beams split the darkness revealing six diminutive rats digging at the cement between some bricks in the wall. Rowan could see they had quite a large hole opened. The bricks had cracked and allowed the cement to break. They were wiggling the loose brick from its hold. "Well, men I see you're doing a bang up job here." The workers turned and pressed their backs against the wall. Beady eyes wide with fright and one had a little trail of urine disappearing into the dust beneath him. He could hear their little teeth chattering.

"Men, I think we need to have a little talk." Rowan sat on his haunches and looked down at the whimpering workers.

"Buggs pick them up. We're going to find their boss and see what he has to say for himself." He opened his jaws and the one worker passed out. Rowan bit him at the scruff of his neck and the rest followed suit.

Yuk! Dirty buggers. he shuddered. Others joined them as they walked down the sidewalk and crossed a couple streets and entered an alley. The sound of squeaks and running feet could be heard as they neared the square grate covered hole of a building. With a shove the grate fell making a loud clanging noise in the alley's silence.

Rowan, Buggs and the other's carrying their cargo marched single file down the plank. past the half empty coal bin toward a light shining through a broken piece of wood.

Inside the room a child's chair had been mounted on a dais and sprawled across its velvet padding lay Nate. The Rat King.

Rowan dropped his charge who lay there as if he were dead, Rowan's paw remained on the rat's tail. The others dropped theirs next to his. Some immediately took off for the corners of the room hiding behind the guards.

"Your Hindness," Rowan mispronounced the title and gave a mock bow. His ears twitched when one of the uniformed guards moved his spear to a more comfortable position.

"Row." The throaty voice of the King answered while he drew in a long drag of something piped into the tube he held in his paw. "To what do I owe this intrusion?"

"We found these intruders on our property." Rowan accused the King,

The king blew a stream of vapor into the air and looked down at the offenders. "If they trespassed it was on their own. I didn't send them."

The rodents squeaked in protest, but quieted when the King looked down at them.

"We have a deal." Rowan spoke. "We protect the Cheese factory from other gangs and provide you with cheese. In turn you keep your gangs from our properties. We've had this treaty from before you and I were born. What's the problem now?" Rowan nodded to his men and they sat at attention around the door cutting off any frontal attack.

Nate took another puff and answered through the smoke. "Nothing. I don't know what you're talking about."

Rowan pressed his paw on the neck of the young rat. He noticed the clothing wasn't the rough leather of the rest of this team. The cloth was soft green with a bit of silver at the neck and sleeve. His head jerked up in time to see Nate staring at the young rat with interest. His kin. This one means something to him.

"We've had a set back with this construction. Our teams have a connection to the guards and now the head of the construction team is feeding some of our young ones. This will get a team back in where we can get a way to get the cheese out. You don't need to worry we'll fulfill our bargain."

"I hope so. We've been low on supplies, but we're making do on rations." Nate sat up. "I'll reprimand this team of offenders and make sure they understand where they went wrong."

Rowan nodded. Leaving one paw on his charge he looked down and picked his teeth with one of his fangs. "For our trouble I think I want to keep this one. I've been thinking of training one of yours for a special mission."

Nate rose slightly from his chair, "Not that one. A real trouble maker. He won't take instruction. I'll give you one of our guards." He gave a flick of his tail and one rat stepped forward. Head erect and looked straight into Rowan's eyes like he was heading to the guillotine. "Naw. I think I'll keep this little one. He'll do just fine." He bit the neck of the young rat and made his way out of the room. A burst of squeaks could be heard as they made their way up the plank.

Back in their lair, Rowan dropped the young rat into a cage. "You're new home little one." He got a swipe on his face with claws and spit.

Rowan reared back. The little rat sat up paws clenched and teeth bared. Rowan laughed. "Don't worry you aren't lunch. I don't eat undomesticated food. You'll make a nice pet." He walked to his bed and curled up laying his head on his paws. "You'll be a bargaining tool if things don't go well at the factory." he closed his eyes.