Spicy led Ninja down No Whale Street towards the Fire Department. The buildings peeled with old paint, and artificial plants supplemented the dying front gardens. The street itself was originally cobbled, but it was sprinkled with potholes that were filled with asphalt and, in rare cases, painted cement.

“So why is a kid like you working as a Junior Spy?” Ninja asked conversationally.

“I used to be a gerbil, but they mutated me into a human to be their best agent. Now here we are.”

“Right, because mutation is totally legal here in Britain?”

“No it’s not. I was joking. I accidentally stumbled upon the HQ and I promised I wouldn’t tell anyone if they let me be one of their agents”

“So what you’re saying is you were a threat to the agency, and they resolved it by hiring you. Sneaky, but still, you’re just a kid. You shouldn’t need to be doing field work.”

“I wanted to. And it’s not like I’m that young. What about you? You seem a little frail to be in the field yourself”

“I’m a ninja. My strength is in skill, not stature.”

“Well—”

Ninja jerked up her head, raising a finger to silence her. “Did you hear that?”

“Yes, it sounds like a herd of small animals. Maybe lemmings, but what would lemmings be doing in No Whale Street?”

Ninja gave her an incredulous look, then pointed behind her. Spicy turned to see a group of cats. “What the heck?”

“Those are...cats.”

“Are you sure they’re not large lemmings?”

Spicy glared at her “I don’t know what lemmings look like, but I’m pretty sure they don’t look exactly like cats. But why are they here?”

Ninja took a step towards the cats, then surprise dawned on her face. “They’re being herded.”

Spicy followed her gaze to see a boy about her age herding the cats. He wore well-fitting clothes of a brown camo design and a headdress that was made of green leaves. His long sleeves were also very leafy.

“That’s weird. Let’s keep going. The fire station isn’t much farther,” Spicy said, sounding agitated.

“That is weird,” Ninja agreed. She had a weird feeling about the boy, but she decided to focus on the task at hand. The missing orphans were more important than a herd of cats.

Spicy nodded and started to follow Ninja, but then the boy called out:

“Hey Spicy McPie! Can the SAOTJSOGB’s top Agent herd cats better than I?” Something about him saying that didn’t sit right with Spicy, but she tried to ignore it as she and Ninja continued to the fire department. Then she realized what had thrown her off.

How did he know my name? She stopped in her tracks, and turned around to see the boy’s trainers disappear down a dark alley. That’s super sus.

Ninja, several paces ahead, turned back to say, “Hey, ketchup, Cumin Cake! We’re on a case!”

“But… I need to follow that kid!” Spicy turned and took off after the boy

This is why I work alone, Ninja thought, grumbling as she continued to make her way to the fire department.

Spicy entered the alley, unnerved by the fact that it looked like a good place for bad things to happen. She followed the sounds of cats running, and plastic leaves rustling against the wind. She almost lost him, until she called out:

“Hey! Come back here!”

“No. I’m a tree! I don’t have to listen to you!”

Spicy ran towards the sound of his voice, turning down a lot of shady alleys. She didn’t understand how this maze of alleys actually worked — she thought they would’ve come out onto another street by now. Who in the world was the developer here? I wanna have a nice little chat with them. She spotted the boy, peeking out from another corner. He struck a tree pose, and Spicy bolted towards him. She wasn’t too far away when something suddenly grabbed onto the back of her shirt, stopping her from going any further. She turned around to see a woman, dressed in a gray jumpsuit, a fluffy tail, and a headband with ears attached.

“Spicy McPie. I’ve heard so much about you!” She let go of Spicy’s shirt and put her hands on her hips.

“I can’t say the same about you. Wanna introduce yourself?”

“I’m the Black Miracat. But my friends call me… The Black Miracat”

“Alright, Black Miracat. You wo—”

“Hey. I said only my friends call me the Black Miracat. Call me the Black Miracat or I’ll steal all your hoodies.”

Spicy raised an eyebrow. “How do you two know my name?”

“Oh it’s just me. Tree boy over there snuck away while you weren’t looking.”

Spicy turned to where the boy had been standing, only to see that he had disappeared

“And you can ask all the questions you want when we get to our destination. Does that sound alright?”

“Not until you tell me who you work for,” Spicy said.

The Black Miracat did not look pleased with that. She sighed and reached into her pocket. She pulled out a match.

“Do you know what building we’re behind right now?”

Spicy shook her head.

“We’re behind the most popular pub in Minnesota. If you don’t want to see it go up in flames, along with everyone in it, you’re going to come with me, no questions asked.”

“Pubs on fire”... “She’s connected to the kidnapper”... “12 bamboo” Spicy gritted her teeth. This was the person she was looking for.

“Actually, I think you’ll be the one coming with me. Black Miracat, you’re under arrest”

“You sound like an American. But I like a good fight.” Without warning, Miracat swept Spicy’s feet out from under her, knocking her onto her back.

Miracat aimed a kick at her head, but Spicy rolled away just in time. She popped up on the other side. Miracat whipped around, aiming another kick at Spicy’s stomach.

“You sure like to kick a lot,” Spicy said, dodging the blow, and Miracat, losing her balance. She toppled onto a pile of brandy barrels. She smirked and held up the match. Spicy gasped as she dropped the lit match into it.

Laughing like a maniac, Miracat jumped up and pelted off, running into Spicy and knocking her to the ground before slipping down another alley.

“NO!” Spicy jumped up and dashed around to the front of the building, slamming through the doors. The rancid smell of alcohol hit her like a wall as she yelled, “EVERYONE OUT NOW!” The people inside all looked at her, a little confused, and then went back to their drinks. Spicy glared, and looked around for the fire alarm. It was right on the wall next to her and she reached over and pulled it down. The alarm started blaring, and the bouncers started moving towards her. The unhappy people cheered them on as they grabbed her and threw her out onto the street. Spicy clenched her fists as smoke and flames started climbing to lick the sky.

She picked herself off the ground as sirens started coming her way, and ran back so she could find Ninja.