I just sat in the car was the rain and storm got worse. Another car pulled up and began blaring their horn at me. Mousethief why did you have to park so poorly? What should I do? They kept blaring their car horn.

There was lightning overhead as I felt the sound of thunder in my chest. That had been close I gulped and unbuckled myself. I needed to handle this. I got out of the car and into the rain. I walked over to the other vehicle’s driver window and knocked on it. It was rolled down a bit.

“What are you doing parking there!?” A elderly mouse screamed at me. “You are blocking the way into the parking garage.”

“This road is closed, I suggest you find another way,” I said as confidently as I could.

“A cat telling me what to do? The nerve! I am going to get the police and have you declawed. You will be scrubbing my bathtub out missy.” The rage that had been bottled up for so long began to slip out.

“Get out of here you bint!” I then brought the gun up. I made sure to keep my finger off the trigger and not point it at her.

“Ahhh! Help! I am going to die!” the old mouse screamed and cowered in her car seat.

“Get out of here. The road is closed. Don’t make me tell you again,” I said. The old mouse quickly shut her window. I walked back to Mousethief’s car as she drove up on the sidewalk, hitting a trashcan and then speeding away in the rain. Thunder and lightning boomed overhead. I got back in the car, water dripping off my fur.

I could feel the water going down my tail, through the hole in the back of the seat, to the floor of the car. I shivered slightly and not just from the cold of the rain clinging to my fur. I had resolved the situation. No one was dead. I looked at the gun in my paws and clutched it tighter, careful not to touch the trigger even though the safety was on.

The driver door opened, and I jumped a bit. It was Mousethief, he was back. “Any problems Miss Mittens?” he asked.

“Nothing I couldn’t handle,” I replied with as much confidence as I could muster.

“Excellent. Buckle up please, safety first,” I quickly strapped myself in and the car took off. “Had to get a bit creative. Normally I don’t go out into the field, but I must say I do good work. There was a loud boom, and the ground began to shake. I looked in the passenger’s side mirror and saw the entire building we had been parked in front of collapse into a pile of rubble.

“Tom Cat is in hot pursuit. They managed to get the cursed child into a vehicle. I swear that cat is a menace on the road.” You aren’t allowed to say that Mousethief, not with the way you drive. “Hitting everything left and right. No sense of the car.” He shook his head as we plowed through the rain.

“That is why these rushed missions are the worst. No time to plan, scout, and stay out of the action. This poor Mousethief has to get involved,” he lightly complained. I couldn’t tell how much he was joking and how much he was being serious. He accelerated even more, so much it felt like the rain was coming at us horizontally.

There were three cars in front of us. A creature leaned out a window of the front car and pointed a very large gun in our direction. My eyes went wide as Mousethief suddenly swerved the car, my Danger Sense spiked up the highest it had ever been. I heard faint pops in the background. “Hang on Miss Mittens, this is going to get rough.” I noticed the creature that had the large gun and was firing at the car in front of us, which looked banged up.

The lead car swerved right, and the rest of the cars followed suit. My claws dug into the car paneling, hanging on for dear life. Mousethief opened up the sunroof of the car. Rain poured in, soaking the back seat. I was glad my purchases from today were in the trunk.

One of the cars in front of us collided with another. A black blur moved through the rain and our car shook. “Keep on the lead car!” my father shouted from the roof.

“Already on it!” Mousethief shouted back. While this was madness, I couldn’t help but feel my excitement grow. That could be me. I could be hunting down heretics and cultists with my father. We closed in on the lead car. A creature leaned out of the passenger side with a gun and Mousethief swerved to the left slightly to avoid the gun fire. I was getting a better handle on my Danger Sense compared to last time it felt like.

I slouched in my seat, not wanting to duck my head and take my eyes off what was going on. Our car surged forward. It shook and I saw my father land on the other car. It spun out of control. “Ahhh!” I screamed as I saw him get thrown and the car went into a tumble, glass and paneling shattering.

If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

Mousethief hit the brakes and swerved to a stop. There was utter silence except for the rain, and I could almost taste the smell of burning rubber. I looked around for my father. Was he okay? Was he alive?

I spotted him, but it was hard to tell if he was injured as he made his way to the wrecked car. He bent down and looked inside. He then came back to our car. Mousethief rolled down his window and handed my father a small square package. My father put it into the other car and then got back in ours through the door instead of the sunroof. Mousethief closed up the sunroof and set off as an explosion took care of the wrecked vehicle.

“Are you okay?” I asked worriedly. Mousethief was actually driving a bit slower. I heard sirens in the distance.

“I am fine Mittens. I hate cars. And the rain. That is why I try to keep to stealth, but then it is a rush job.”

“Rush jobs are the worst,” Mousethief chimed in. My father nodded at that.

“But the city won’t be flooded at least.” I looked outside and the rain was already clearing up. My eyes went wide. “Well, another job successfully completed,” my father said with a sigh.

“You alright back there?” Mousethief asked.

“Just some stress on my wrists. Need at least a week or so to heal. I managed the landing, but it was rough on the paws,” my father replied.

“Well good news, nothing else has come in. Back to base to rest up and get Mittens trained up. You can put the gun away now,” Mousethief told me. I quickly put it back in the glove box.

We got back to the port and my father, and I snuck our way back onto the cargo ship and into the cargo container. He sat down and I noticed some dried blood around the base of his claws. I bit my tongue and didn’t say anything as we sat there in silence. My father was still breathing heavily.

Mousethief showed up with some cooked fresh fish. We ate as the cargo ship got underway. “I will get your stuff shortly, Miss Mittens,” I almost forgot about all our purchases.

“Thank you Mousethief. If I can help, let me know,” I replied. He gave me a grin.

“Don’t worry, Mousethief can handle himself.” It was weird how he sometimes talked in the third person, but also endearing in a weird sort of way.

“But handling others, Mousethief. Taking my daughter to a cultist’s den for the Mother of Mercy? Letting her dye her paws.” He was glaring at Mousethief. I quickly spoke up.

“Don’t blame him. I asked alright.” My father turned to glare at me, and I shut my mouth as his yellow eyes bored right through me.

“I will get to you in a second Mittens. Mousethief.”

“We were tight on time, and she asked. You know me, multi-tasking to keep things moving along,” he replied. “Also, I was watching her the entire time. They didn’t try anything,” Mousethief said.

“And that is why I don’t toss you off this boat. Mittens. Dying your paws?” he asked me.

“I thought it would help me be like you,” I said quietly. My father let out a sigh.

“I was never good with kittens. That was your mother’s job. Let me see,” he replied, and I held out my paws and sniffled a bit trying to hold back any tears. I couldn’t be weak in front of my father. “It is good work at least.”

“Had to be since they were dying their fur,” Mousethief said.

“Hush you. Go do something useful,” my father scolded Mousethief who just grinned and gave me a wink as he walked away. “This is a hard life, Mittens. I know you want to be like me, but I almost died three times today. Each day could be my last.”

“But you survived,” I said.

“I am getting old. The joke is that cats have nine lives.” He shook his head and his ears drooped down. “Landing on our feet and so much more. If that is all true, then I am probably on life number seventy, far past my expiration date.”

I didn’t know what to say to that. “I never wanted this life for you. That is why I haven’t been around much. You saw how crazy it can get once things heat up.”

“I…” I didn’t know what to say or how I felt. All my emotions were bubbling up. My father gave me a hug and I began to cry. I didn’t know why I just cried.

“There, there Mittens, just breathe.” I cried for a minute and slowly calmed down. “All this has been a lot and you have been amazing. You didn’t even fire that gun, I am proud of you.” My heart warmed up at this.

“That was a test Mousethief gave you after I asked for you to be given a gun. Too many creatures will just start shooting it all over the place. No care and no understanding. This job is hard. So very hard, in so many ways. But one thing that allows a person to survive is understanding themselves and restraint.”

My father let go of me. He then held up a tissue box. I took a tissue and wiped my face and eyes. “A test?” I asked.

“Everything is a test now. A test of ability. A test of character. A test of determination.” I sniffled a bit. “When your life is on the line, you can’t be found lacking my Mittens. While I am not one to say nice things about the Covenant Church, I have seen other assassins fail, and it is never pretty for the creatures caught up in the disaster. I worry for you. But if you are serious, then I will train you to be the best.”

“Yes,” I said with as much confidence as I could muster.

“I love you Mittens,” my father said and gave me another hug. I returned it as he rested his head on top of mine. “It is going to be hard, very hard. But don’t give up and stay true to yourself. Those are the most important things.”

“Not balance and metal claws?” I jokingly asked. My father dropped the hug and gave me a grin showing his canines.

“That is the easy part. Anyone can fight. But surviving is much harder. Come on, let’s get to stretching. You are almost up to a full split. We can’t do much else until you can manage that,” my father said. I got up and stood across from him.

We went into various poses. “Breathe. I know I keep repeating that, but you need to control your breathing. It has a huge impact on your movement. When I leap from car to car, breathing is critical for the landing. Too much air in your lungs will unbalance you. But the chance might not come at the right time if you aren’t paying attention. That is why you need to manage your breathing,” he explained as we continued to work through various stretches. I could feel my Movement skill improving. I had never considered breathing was a part of movement before.