The daring mission

The sun had reached the middle of the sky. Kitty stretched lazily and started grooming herself. She carefully styled the fur on her face, licked her tail several times to make it look fluffier. A fly, which no one knew where it came from, was buzzing around the den. Kitty chased it lazily for a moment, then gracefully sauntered over to the fridge, grabbed a piece of sausage, and started eating. It seemed no one was home.

She went out into the yard, crouched in a corner again, and started thinking: Now what's the plan?

She thought maybe it would be better to attack them and tell them this is our territory and they should leave. But then she said to herself it wasn't a good idea. They were tomcats, big and athletic. They might hurt them and easily kick the girls out. Then it occurred to her they could befriend them. The image of Shooper's face flashed in her mind, and a strange, inexplicable feeling stirred inside her. She gave herself a little shake and unconsciously shouted, "No way!"

She stood up, went to the trees, fences, and doors, and started rubbing herself against them to mark everything with her scent. She circled back, glanced at herself in the water of the pond, and lay down again, deep in thought. She closed her eyes — and suddenly, an idea popped into her head: A spy!

She opened her eyes and saw Timmy, the boy twin, coming from afar, and he seemed to be behaving differently than usual. He kept licking his lips, running and then slowing down, giggling to himself.

Kitty called out, "Timmy! What are you doing here at this hour? Didn't you go to school?"

Timmy startled and said, "It's finished, I came back early." As he came closer, the smell of sausage filled the air.

Kitty wanted to ask him a question, but then the twins’ mother appeared with the girls, carrying lots of food and dragging a woolen rug behind them. The rug was thick and fluffy, and looked really comfy — probably meant as a bed for the kids.

Luna shouted, "Kitty! What are you staring at? Come help us! Our hands are full!"

Kitty ran toward them, and together they carried everything inside the house.

The mother cat said, "On Seventh Street, people left a bunch of stuff in the alley. They're all semi-new. Kitty, go see if you can find something for yourself. Hugo's going for a walk in an hour, it'll be easier to sneak in then."

Margaret had handed Luna some food, and Milo had managed to grab a few things from the butcher shop.

Kitty said, "I have an idea. We need to send a spy into Shooper’s team."

Everyone turned to look at her and said, "Shooper? Who’s that?"

Timmy gave a little cough and brought his milk bottle to his mouth.

Kitty continued, "Shooper is the leader of the tomcats."

She glanced sideways at Milo, who was sipping milk and didn’t seem any different than usual.

Mila asked, "How?"

Kitty went on, "We have to befriend them."

Everyone turned their curious eyes toward Kitty.

Just then, Nikki, the laughing and dancing girl twin, came in, sucking on something happily.