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I believe that ht Orson tothe lab records to account for hi taken by force back to the lab if anyone realizes that he is one of their successes Whatever the reason, he ame when he’s around anyone other than Bobby, Sasha, and me While he doesn’t insult Roosevelt with that deception, Orson remains as taciturn as a turnip, albeit a turnip with a tail

Now, sitting on a chair, raised on a pair of pillows, daintily eating ojerriean ordinary cat As we recounted the events of the past twelve hours, his green eyes followed the conversation with interest When he heard so that surprised him, his eyes widened, and when he was shocked, he either twitched or pulled his head back and cocked it as if to say, Man, have you been guzzling catnip cocktails, or are you just a congenital bullshit rinned, which was usually when Bobby and I had to reveal so stupid that we had said or done; it seerinned way too often Bobby’s description of e glison’s bio-secure suit seemed to put the feline off his feed for a few minutes, but he was first and foremost a cat, with a cat’s appetite and curiosity, so before we finished the tale, he had solicited and received from Roosevelt another saucer ofkids and Orson are somewhere in Wyvern," I said to Roosevelt Frost, because I still felt weird about directly addressing the cat, which is peculiar, considering that I directly address Orson all the ti to search We need a tracker"

Bobby said, "Since we don’t own a reconnaissance satellite, don’t know a good Indian scout, and don’t keep a bloodhound hanging in the closet for these eojerrie

The cat met my eyes, then Bobby’s, then Sasha’s He closed his eyes for aour implied request, then finally turned his attention to Roosevelt

The gentle giant pushed aside his plate and coffee cup, leaned forward, propped his right elbow on the table, rested his chin on his fist, and locked gazes with our whiskered guest

After awhich I tried unsuccessfully to recall thefroojerrie wonders if you were listening to what I said e first arrived"

"‘Lots of death,’" I quoted

"Whose?" Sasha asked

"Ours"

"Who says?"

I pointed at the cat

Mungojerrie ed to look like a swaer"

"He’s not just saying it’s dangerous," Roosevelt explained "It’s a…sort of prediction"

We sat in silence, staring at the cat, who favored us with an expression as inscrutable as that on the cats in Egyptian toojerrie’s clairvoyant?"

"No," Roosevelt said

"Then what do yousole the future in the sinuous dance of the flas"

Bobby, Sasha, and I looked at one another, but none of us could provide enlightens," Roosevelt said

"How?"

"By knowing"

"What is the sound of one hand clapping?" Bobby asked rhetorically

The cat twitched its ears and looked at hi too much Deepak Chopra," Bobby said

Frustration pinched Sasha’s face and voice "Roosevelt?"

When he shrugged his massive shoulders, I could al across the table "Daughter, this ani on the telephone Sometimes it is just exactly as clear as that But then souities"

"Well," Bobby said, "does this ball-bearingOrson and the kids, then getting back here alive--any chance at all?"

With his left hand, Roosevelt gently scratched the cat behind the ears and stroked its head "He says there’s always a chance Nothing is hopeless"

"Fifty-fifty chance?" I wondered

Roosevelt laughed softly "Mr Mungojerrie says he isn’t a bookmaker"

"So," Bobby said, "the worst that can happen is that we all go back there to Wyvern and we all die, get shredded and processed and packaged as lunchmeat Seems to ’s changed I’m up for it"

"Me too," said Sasha

Obviously still speaking for the cat, which purred and leaned into his hand as he petted it, Roosevelt said, "What if these kids and Orson are soo? What if they’re in The Hole?"

Bobby said, "Rule of thuood place"

"That’s what they call the genetic research facility"

"They?" I asked

"The people ork in it They call it The Hole because…" Roosevelt tilted his head, as if listening to a suess, is that it’s deep underground"

I foundout there in Wyvern somewhere, like we’ve suspected, still staffed and operational?"

"Yes," Roosevelt said, stroking the cat under the chin "Self-contained…secretly resupplied every six ojerrie

"Yes He knows It’s where he’s fro back in his chair "It’s where he escaped froht But if Orson and the children are in The Hole, there’s no way to get to theojerrie raised one forepaw and began to lick it, groos, he could track, he was our best hope, but he was also a cat We were entirely reliant on a coh up a hairball The only reason I didn’t laugh or cry was that I couldn’t do both at once, which hat I felt like doing