We made our way back downstairs to the ground floor hallway entrance. The Sub-Divisioners had already reached the front door, which they opened easily enough since the lock had long since been broken by previous vandals.

Clang, Miss Toontastic, and I, stood by the stairs several paces away from the front door. Soaks entered first, getting himself out of the heavy rain. He was quickly followed inside by Lure and Chips.

I heard Miss Toontastic sniffing, and for a moment I wondered if she might have a cold. But then, I realised she was smelling something strange. I heightened my own sense of smell, and understood why Miss Toontastic had scrunched her raccoonish nose.

Soaks, oddly, smelled of something acidic. It was a sharp smell, that stung a little. Lure's smell, much like her beautiful face, was like an inviting perfume. Lastly, Chips, who shuffled in behind the other two, had a smell that was simply strange, though ever so slightly familiar. I tried to remember where I had smelled Chip's peculiar scent before, but came up short.

Miss Toontastic and I looked to each other, as if to acknowledge we both smelled the same things.

I reduced my heightened sense of smell on the off-chance any of the smells had some hypnotic aspect to them. It would still mean I would be susceptible to the smell's influence, but perhaps not to the same degree as I might with my sense of smell heightened to the nth degree.

Soaks made a show of stomping on the matt at the front door. Lure, following his lead, did the same. Chips, with that same slight smile on his face, looked all around. If he cared about how wet his face was, or how his head of hair clung in wet strips to his forehead, he wasn't letting it show.

Finished stomping on the inside doormat, Soaks gave the three of us a questioning look. I gestured with a thumb over my shoulder.

"Let's talk in the kitchen," I said, "Lots of room there."

"And I can fix yah something to eat," said Miss Toontastic, "If yah like?"

"That'll be good," said Soaks, tiredly, "Cheers."

We led the way into the kitchen, and Miss Toontastic set to work taking several cans of food from the basket. She peeled each open and pulled off the wrappers.

"It's spaghetti," she said, sliding each freshly peeled open can across the kitchen island to our guests.

"You'll need'ta heat it up," said Miss Toontastic, "I'm guessin' you guys know how'ta do that?"

Without saying a word, Soaks, Lure, and Chips, each bulbed up their hands, heating the outside of the cans.

"Oh!" said Miss Toontastic, "And before I forget!"

She spun around, her long dress twirling, and she took three forks from a drawer and slid them over to our guests too.

"Cheers," said Soaks.

"Thank you," said Lure.

Chips gave a slight nod.

After a few moments of twirling the spaghetti and the sauce it came with around a few times, until the aroma of the sauce filled the kitchen, along with little vapours, Soaks skewered a forkful and started eating. Immediately after, Lure, forgoing her fork, drank the contents of her can greedily, getting lots of the red sauce around her mouth in the process.

Chips, I noticed, simply held onto his can but didn't eat. And he was still smiling just a little, his eyes continuing to search all around.

"So," said Soaks, "How long you lot been on the run?"

Clang and Miss Toontastic threw glances at me. I hadn't meant to take charge of the situation, in a sense becoming the leader of our trio, but it struck me then that I had taken on responsibility for how things were going to go moving forward.

"A while," I said.

"So you lot avoided gettin' evacuated then?" said Soaks.

He had his gaze set downward, as if not particularly caring about the answers we might give.

"We've done our best to stay one step ahead of the Peepers," I said.

Lure broke out into guffaws, her beautiful face at odds with the sauce stains around her mouth.

"'Peepers'" she said, "We call 'em 'Pissers' don't we, Soaks?! Haw-haw-haw!"

"Yeah," said Soaks.

He'd taken a few mouthfuls of the spaghetti and set the can back on the kitchen island. He took a good look at the three of us again and broke into a gallows humour grin.

"What's with the get ups? Seriously?" he said.

Clang leant back against the nearby sink, his bronze and muscled arms folded. Heavy rainfall beyond the broken window panes behind him framed his hooded head.

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"We're protecting our identities," his voice rang.

"From us?" said Soaks.

"From everyone," Clangs voice rang.

"There's easier ways to protect your identities," Soaks said, "Soaks ain't my real name, and do you really think this is my real face?"

The question hung in the air, and Soaks appeared to be asking it with all seriousness. I narrowed my eyes, trying to make out if there was anything about his face that might give away it didn't belong to him. He then broke into a cheeky grin.

"I'm just messin' with you," he said, "Soaks ain't my real name, obviously, but this is my real face. Back in 'Div' there was a bloke who changed his face over and over again. Think he was planning to look like one of the Pissers and break out d'at way. In the end, y'know what happened to him?"

Again, Soaks let his question hang in the air.

"Forgot who he was!" Lure said, loudly, smiling, having already wiped her face clean.

Clang, Miss Toontastic, and I remained very still listening to this little revelation.

"Yeah," said Soaks.

He looked a little annoyed that Lure had blurted out the answer to his rhetorical question, but he seemed to ease his annoyance by gently stroking Lure's long silky brunette hair again. Something about the way he stroked her hair gave me the creeps.

"That can happen?" Miss Toontastic squeaked, "People can jus' forget who they are?"

"Oh yeah," said Soaks, "A few blokes in 'Div' couldn't 'andle it in there. Decided they'd rather forget who they were than deal with being stuck where they were."

Soaks moved to the adjacent kitchen counter on the other side of the kitchen and sat himself up on it.

"That's why you's lot have got to be careful, init. The strange'll mess up your head real quick," said Soaks. He then said, "But somethin's tellin' me you lot 'ave been through the wars already?"

Again, more silence from the three of us.

Soaks let his gaze linger on the three of us again, then he seemed to come to a decision.

"Well," he said, "Once the rain quits we'll head off. We appreciate you letting us come in for a bit."

"You're just gonna go?" Clang's voice rang.

"Well look," said Soaks, smiling, "We ain't looking for trouble, and it's pretty clear you's three've got your own thing going on. So, unless you're sayin' we can't leave, I think it's best we go, yeah?"

"You can leave whenever you want," I said, "And it's nothing personal. We just need to be careful."

"No, yeah, I get that," said Soaks, "The three of us are headed into London, actually. 'Spose you lot ain't heard about the underground resistance movement goin' on there?"

"Nah," Clang's voice rang, "What's that?"

I saw a glint in Soaks's eye. Clang had just given away that we likely hadn't been to London in a while. That would narrow down the potential list of MICE on the run we could be among.

"Well," said Soaks, "A bunch of MICE have had enough, init? They've gathered together in London. Started a resistance movement. They're taking the fight back to the Pissers. With all the underground tunnels and what-not in the city, the Pissers have a hard time stopping the MICE from fightin' back."

"What's the point of fighting in the city?" said Miss Toontastic.

She had moved closer to Clang, situating herself against the kitchen counter.

"Stickin' together," said Soaks, "The more of us MICE stick together, the harder it is for the Pissers to kill us."

"So," he said, "If you's lot what any of this Pisser rubbish to end, then joining up with the resistance in the city is the way to go."

"And you joined it already?" Clang's voice rang.

"Nah," said Soaks, "We're just headin' there. The resistance has sent out recruiters to find other MICE to join up. We met one of 'em the other day."

Soaks put a hand in his pocket and took out a slip of paper, holding it up.

"They gave us a time and place to be if we're serious about joining up," said Soaks, "Dunno about you's, but I ain't gonna let the Pissers have me on the run for the rest of my life. The three of us are gonna join up and take the fight to them."

"Then we should join too," Clang's voice rang.

His gazed moved over to me; the white mist and silver and gold particles swirling around excitedly beneath the hood.

So predictable, I thought. For a few moments I considered the possibilities of how things might unfold. I knew, for certain, Soaks was making everything up about the so-called 'resistance'. It sounded like the kind of crap which would inspire MICE on the run to congregate in the city, where it would be much easier for the Pied Pipers to corner them. I had no doubt London city was the last place any MICE on the run would want to be, because there was no way the Pied Pipers, and by extension Chellam, would ever want to lose control of London over to MICE.

The real question was how long Clang, Miss Toontastic, and I had before the fight broke out.

"Right," I said, nodding.

"Really?" Miss Toontastic squeaked, her face worried, "You want to join the resistance too?"

I grinned, mirthlessly, and shook my head.

"Here's the thing," I said, then moving my gaze to Soaks, who was watching me intently.

"Even if there was a resistance, I wouldn't join it," I said, "But my real question is this, Soaks."

I stood to my full height and tried to keep the anger from my voice.

"What did the Pied Pipers offer you to become their hunting dogs?"

Lure's eyes went wide, fixing on Soaks. Even Chips, who had seemed vacant the whole time, lost his smile and looked to Soaks too.

Soaks was grinning, but the grin quickly faded. He looked to the kitchen floor, whatever pretend ease he had fading away, replaced by a sad countenance.

He sighed, breathing a ragged breath. Then, raising his head slowly, his face looking gaunt, he said, "They've got our families, mate."

Lure and Chips both looked shocked by Soaks's sudden dropping of the act.

"You were lying?" Clangs voice rang.

"Of course I was lying, you dummy," said Soaks, "This ain't Star Wars, there ain't a resistance running about fighting the empire. Don't be thick."

"Are the Pipers nearby?" I said, "Do they know we're here?"

Soaks slid off the counter-top, and in turn Clang, Miss Toontastic, and I, flinched, ready for the fight which would inevitably start.

Soaks, seemingly ignoring the question I just asked, said, "I'm sorry. They've got my Mum locked up somewhere, my Dad, and my brother and sister too. They got m ywhole extending bloody family."

Soaks, seemingly overcome with emotion, turned his back to us and kicked the cabinet by his knee so hard it splintered and broke off its hinge.

"You know what they'll do if we don't do what they say?" he said, turning to face us again, "First they'll kill my mum, then my dad. We don't do what they say, they'll make us pay for it."

"It's the same for all of you?" I said, a touch of sympathy in my voice.

Chips and Lure nodded, both looking just as sad and gaunt as Soaks.

"What would you do, mate?" said Soaks, "If they had a gun to your mum's head?"

The question hit me like an electric shock. My slip-gloved hands squelched as I balled my hands tightly into fists.

"Same as you, probably," I said.

Soaks nodded, and seemed to take a bit of comfort from what I said.

"I'd like to offer the three of you a chance to hand yourselves in without a fuss," he said.

"And," I said, "If you were standing where I'm standing, would you hand yourself in?"

"Nah, mate," said Soaks, "I would not."

"So that settles it then," I said.

"Spose it does," said Soaks.

And that's when the fighting began.

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