Episode 10: Canned heat

Meanwhile in an alleyway not far from Miss Kitty’s Milkbar……

Chase sauntered up to the trashcan and stood close. His whiskers twitched in the sunlight as decided his next move.

He knocked sharply on the side of the bin and called out “Hey Dash, you in there buddy?”

He could hear a rustling and a strange beeping noise coming from inside “Errr … hang on …. that you Chase?” came the muffled response.

“Yeah it’s me. What're you up to pal?” he asked feeling a slight impatience.

“One sec, I’ll be right with you!” More rustling and then the lid on the bin opened a crack. “You alone?” Dash asked quietly.

“Yes!”

“Ok, come on in.”

“Look Dash, I’m not really in the mood for rummaging around in the trash right now. I want to talk to you about Misty.”

“Trust me Chase, you won’t regret it".

Chase stood outside the trashcan for a moment trying not to get annoyed. His tail swished back and forth rapidly. “Ok, ok, but it better be good”.

Dash raised the lid of the trashcan higher so Chase could jump inside. Was it his imagination or was the lid on hinges? He gracefully jumped up  and balanced on the edge before jumping down onto what appeared to be a carpeted platform.

“What the……” he exclaimed.

Dash pressed a button on the side of the can and the platform slowly descended into the darkness below. As Chase’s eyes adjusted to the gloom he could see lights flashing, hear more strange beeping noises again and tinny voices.

“Welcome to the CBI, the cat bureau of investigation, undercover trash division” Dash said proudly, his chest puffing out just a little so Chase could see his ID badge ‘Special Agent Dash Brent’ it read.

Chase’s jaw dropped just a little. What the hell had happened to the slightly shoddy, slightly overweight private detective? This cat was totally different!

“Chase, we’ve got some things we need to talk about. Most importantly, we need to talk about Misty. Chase, she’s in terrible danger”.

Dash turned towards a bank of screens and a keyboard. “Come over here and check out this. We got this recording through from one of our operatives undercover at the Nip Inn Boarding House this afternoon.”

Chase stared at the computer screens and watched events unfold before his eyes. He turned, panicking, grabbing Dash by the shoulder, hard. “Dash, I’ve got to get to Misty – NOW!!!”

Dash adjusted the headset and spoke quietly into the mic “The omelette has landed, I repeat, the omelette has landed”.

“Come on Chase, we haven’t got long”. They stepped onto the platform together and Dash pressed the up button. They jumped out of the trashcan and ran hell for leather towards Chase’s swanky uptown apartment, praying they weren’t too late.