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ôSame here,ö said another member. ôWeÆre under attack, Lita. WeÆre being painted as this ragtag group of murderers and extremists. Pretty soon now theyÆll come for us.ö

ôThey wonÆt come for us,ö Lita assured her people. ôBecause we know we didnÆt do it.ö

ôDo we?ö asked Gran. ôThe man was killed by removing his liver, for crying out loud.ö

ôYeah, it must have been a member of this group,ö Scarlett chimed in.

Worried murmurs rose up, before Lita cut in,ôRubbish. We all took an oath.ö

ôI didnÆt take no oath,ö said Gran. ôWhat oath is this?ö

ôThe oath of nonviolence. We want to save the ducks the Gandhi way. And that means we donÆt raise a finger against the enemy, and we most definitely do not go out and murder them.ö

ôAt any rate, whoever killed Eric Blandine messed up, didnÆt they?ö a member said. ôThey should have killed Cotton Karat instead!ö

ôDo you think ætheyÆ will try again?ö asked Gran.

ôHow should I know?ö that same voice returned. ôI didnÆt do it.ö

ôThen who did?ö Gran asked. ôIt must be one of us, right?ö

Silence reigned for a moment, then another round of recriminations started. Clearly everyone thought that one of this lot had killed Mr. Blandine, but no one was prepared to own up to it.

ôYou know what?ö Gran finally cut in. ôI know this might not be a politically correct thing to say, but as far as IÆm concerned, whoever killed Eric Blandine deserves a medal. TheyÆve done something heroic for the duck cause. An eye for an eye is what I say!ö

ôOr a liver for a liver,ö Scarlett quipped, earning herself a mild smattering of laughter.

ôEnough!ö suddenly Lita cried, and judging from a chair that was scraped back, their fearless leader had risen to her feet. ôThis is no way to talk about that poor man. Have we forgotten why we started this protest? Because we cherish life! Not only human life but mallard life, too! And IÆmsorry, Mrs. Muffin, but I canÆt condone this kind of statement!ö

ôWhat did I do?ö asked Gran.

ôIÆm sorry, but you canÆt be a member of the Duck Liberation Front any longer.ö

ôYouÆre firing me?!ö Gran cried.

ôThatÆs right. Your membership has been revoked. Now please leave. And that goes for you, too, Miss Canyon.ö

ôButàö

ôI really canÆt hold it in any longer, sweetums,ö Harriet said. ôHere goes nothing.ö

ôMrs. Muffin?ö Lita suddenly said. ôWhy is your bag leaking?ö

ôThereÆs something moving in there,ö another voice cried out.

Suddenly Brutus was unceremoniously lifted up, bag and all, and moments later oxygen was finally restored to him. Though when he found himself staring at three hostile faces hovering over him, his equanimity quickly left him.

ôCats!ö Lita cried. ôYou brought cats in here!ö

ôTraitors!ö one of her followers screamed. ôGet them!ö

ôRun for your lives!ö suddenly Gran yelled.

And then Brutus found himself running like the wind, Harriet hot on his trail, with the two older ladies surprisingly quick off the mark and coming right behind them.

ôEnemies of the duck!ö Lita was shouting. ôTheyÆre all enemies of the duck!ö

Up the stairs it went, through a long, dark corridor, and then finally out the front door. And even then the foursome didnÆt stop to catch their breath. Those duck people might pride themselves in all of that Gandhian nonviolence guff, but they seemed pretty violent to Brutus! In fact he had a strong suspicion that if they finally managed to get their hands on them, their livers wouldnÆt stand a chance!

Finally they rounded a corner, and Gran paused to take a breather.

ôI thinkàö she panted heavily. ôWeà lostà them.ö She was resting her hands on her knees and sucking in big gulps of air. ôJeez! These people are completely screwy!ö

ôThey love ducks more than they love people, thatÆs for sure,ö Scarlett chimed in. She, too, looked a little the worse for wear.

ôIÆm sorry, Gran,ö said Harriet. ôBut I really couldnÆt hold it in anymore.ö

ôThatÆs all right, honey,ö said Gran. ôThat meeting went on a lot longer than I thought.ö

ôI actually had to tinkle myself,ö said Scarlett.

ôSo what did we learn?ö asked Brutus. ôThat the duck people killed Eric Blandine?ö

ôIf I were a betting woman,ö said Gran, ôwhich IÆm not, IÆd put good money on it.ö

ôYouÆd put good money on what?ö asked Scarlett.

ôYou really have to learn my catsÆ lingo,ö said Gran.

ôIÆve tried, all right! ItÆs no good. It all sounds like gibberish to me.ö

ôAnyway. I think weÆve got enough here to get an arrest, donÆt you think?ö said Gran, and took out her phone and clicked on the æStopÆ button on her recording app.

ôDid you get all of it?ö asked Scarlett.

ôI sure did,ö said Gran proudly. She gave Harriet and Brutus a cheerful glance. ôWe did good tonight, you guys. James Bond doesnÆt come anywhere near it. Our undercover mission was a roaring success!ö

ôAnd we even got to keep our livers!ö Brutus added.

ôTake that, Max,ö Harriet said with a wink.

Max might be Hampton CoveÆs super sleuth, but it was doubtful heÆd have been able to pull off a daring stunt like this!

Chapter 25