I was ready the next morning, and my father and I met up with Mousethief at the side of the building where we had left for the vault. “Okay, what happened?” he asked.

“Master Tom Cat is being stubborn,” I replied, since my father refused to answer any of my questions after the dinner.

“Journeymouse Mittens should let the past rest where it belongs,” he replied. I finished buckling in and Mousethief took off. Not even his driving could distract from my annoyance.

“Ah, I know what it is about then,” he said.

“You will let it be if you know what is good for you,” my father replied.

“Why? What is the harm about knowing?” I asked. I could feel my father sag in the back seat and heard him let out a defeated sigh.

“You need to tell her,” Mousethief said. Finally, I was going to get some answers.

“My father was a brutal cat. You think I am tough, Saberfang was relentless. Believing he could make the perfect assassin. One strong enough to declare the cats as good creatures. To build a legacy that would undo our shame of losing against the Covenant Church.” I was silent as I listened in. I had never heard my father so defeated and sad.

“I vowed to be nothing like him. But then he insisted on visiting your mother’s family to see if they were good enough for his son. I loved your mother. But they kept to the old ways. A small shrine to our ancestors. Officially a gray area, since it was discrete and kept private.”

“But Saberfang found out and believed it a risk to his standing, my standing. So, he killed them all. From the oldest cat to the youngest kitten. Such a thing is another gray area. He had higher standing and they were technically his family, and he acted in the interest of the Covenant Church.”

“The High Cleric signed off on his actions. He then went missing and the rest is history,” he replied.

“What your father is leaving out is the amount of suspicion that landed on him,” Mousethief said. “Only my meticulous record keeping kept him out of trouble.” I saw Mousethief look at me and shake his head slightly. He had covered for my father. Of course, the other creatures weren’t idiots, but the matter wasn’t pursued. But it left a black cloud over the relationship my father had with the Covenant Church, more so than the usual dynamic.

That made my father’s lack of willingness to payback Mousethief both better and worse. He probably realized it would be suspicious. But he also owed Mousethief big time. I didn’t know what to think. “What was that about having kittens?” I asked.

“Oh, what is this?” Mousethief asked.

“Maximilian wants our bloodline to continue. He will be very insistent on such. His standing within the Covenant Church depends on the success of the organization. My father, then me, and now you all promise great results. That is why he wants our bloodline to continue Do not be surprised if a couple of cats show up at the organization and interact with you,” my father replied.

All of that felt very over the top. “Can he do that?” I asked. I didn’t think so, but I wanted to be sure.

“He will try to put pressure on you in any way he can. But there are limited things he can do. It will be more about setting up situations and giving you encouragement,” my father replied.

“Was it the same for you?” I asked and he shook his head.

“No. I had you before I joined the organization, so it was never brought up. Even then, only Saberfang and I were highly successful. But with you, that is three generations now. Even he can see a trend,” my father replied, and I didn’t know how to respond to what he was saying.

“Can I say I will accept any cat that can defeat me?” I asked. Mousethief began to laugh wildly, knowing I had Mes on my side.

“I am not opposed and would like grand kittens, but it is your choice. Not the High Clerics or anyone else’s choice.” Well at least my father was on my side. “Do you want to have kittens?”

“Ahhh! Why are you asking me such a question,” I complained and felt my blood rush to my face. I couldn’t bury it in my paws, since my claws were always partially extended. I had been working on trying to retract them more like my father. But he could only mostly retract them at best. The ends would always be sticking out of his paws.

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“Sorry, sorry. But you should think about these things Mittens.” I didn’t want to think about things like that. I had a mission to complete. I just wanted to get my life in order first before I thought about kittens. I didn’t want to have this conversation about this now or for the foreseeable future.

“Later, we have a mission now. Let’s talk about that,” I said forcibly changing the subject. “Mousethief, what was the alert?” I asked him. I already knew, but I didn’t want to have that conversation any longer.

“Ducks attempting to summon an ancestral spirit. Bird type creatures. Located out in the Grass Hills to the North. Once we land, we will need to take a ship up to the hills. Low recognizance and mostly vole, mice, and a single rat community in the area,” Mousethief replied.

“Any estimate on the number of cultists?” I asked.

“At least ten, possibly more,” he replied.

“Master Tom Cat, any advice on handling birds?” I asked.

“Quickly. Once they get in the air, they are hard to bring down. Shotguns are the best bet, for range,” my father said. That had been covered in the classes, but I appreciated the suggestion.

“Can we get two shotguns and ammo?” I asked Mousethief. There had been two days of gun training at the Island, but I was not very good at it. But my father had said knowing how to aim and reload without shooting my tail off were the most important parts. Everything else was about timing and positioning, similar to paw to paw combat.

“Already handled, but I will make sure they are ready.” I nodded at this as he came up on the port. He then told me where his container was. There was a mouse sticker on the outside.

Leaving the car, we snuck onto the boat and made our way to the container. Mousethief showed up as the ship got underway. “All set. We will have to offload, once we arrive, so a bit of waiting around, since we are going inland. Do you want to bring the container?” he asked me.

“Supplies and equipment compared to ease of movement?” I asked.

“Yep. A car is much faster than a truck and less noticeable, but that is up to you,” he replied. I thought over the situation. It was just ducks, but Mousethief had more experience. “I am inclined to leave it, but what do you think?” I asked.

“Bring it. Nothing ever goes to plan. Unlike a city, it is impossible to hide in these villages, but there are rooms for cargo trucks to move around more easily. I can find a lot to park in,” he replied. “Having the extra supplies could be important. Can’t lug around communication equipment either. If another situation comes up nearby, we can react quickly,” Mousethief said.

I slowly nodded at this. I would trust Mousethief’s advice and experience. I wanted to move quickly, but it would be foolish to get into a situation without supplies and resources on hand. Also, the container was like a mobile base we could use. That was the one bad thing about cats, we really stood out wherever we went.

“Alright, bring the container. So, the challenge is going to be locating the cultists location and all their members to remove them all, and capture a leader or two,” I replied. “Any information?” I asked.

“Nothing, just a report sent in through the local priest. He would be our first contact. I can handle that, if you want to nose around,” Mousethief said.

“I trust you to handle the initial follow up. Where the ducks are, and what do they normally do?” I asked Mousethief. He would clearly be using his skills and quickly uncover as much as possible.

“They have a fishing industry at various lakes in the area, they trade for bread and alcohol. They love the stuff. Collapsing the fishing industry will be viewed negatively, so you can’t just kill all the ducks,” Mousethief said, and I nodded at that.

I thought back to suggested approaches from the classes I had. “Get one out at night, selling drugs or doing something illegal, and squeeze them for information,” I slowly said as I worked out what I would be doing exactly once we arrived. A criminal was an acceptable target, and they were most likely tapped into the local knowledge.

“Ah, that is the challenge. Ducks don’t have paws. So, everything goes through intermediaries they have. So, it will be another creature buying alcohol to sell to fledgings,” Mousethief replied.

“Then squeeze the general criminals then to find something out. What about the rats? Is it a Mischief?” I asked. A Mischief was a much more structured group of rats and had a history of combat. If they were a Mischief that would add a variable to this mission, I needed to be aware of.

“No, just a farming community. There have been a couple of mice intermarriages over the years. Not common, but it has happened. Inflaming tensions there would also be viewed negatively,” Mousethief said.

My father was silent and watching and would only step in if I got over my head and needed help to complete the mission or to prevent it from turning into a disaster. He was meant to be a passive observer, rather than interfering actively with my decisions. There was no paw holding with the organization.

The intent was to see how I handled myself in the field, so I would be trusted by myself once named an Assassin of the organization. “Any other ideas Mousethief?” I asked him. It was kind of cheating to have someone so experienced helping me regardless of their unique Skills. But I would take every advantage I could get.

“Sometimes the only thing we can do is wait. Once we get to port, stay in the container as it moved onto a truck. One we get to our destination you can hop out,” Mousethief replied.

“Then I will work on my stretching,” I said and immediately started. A high level of flexibility really was crucial to fight well. That was something my father had hammered into me, and I had felt countless times in our sparring sessions. With my skills every movement and breath were crisp and precise.

The stone linking Mes and myself was packed away into my personal pack inside the container. Along with my spare clothes and other personal items. I was not going to call on them unless it was necessary. I had the skills, my father, and Mousethief. If I couldn’t handle this mission, then I was already in big trouble.