#13.6

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With a light whistle to get Chicken’s attention, she motioned to the hawks.  “Release one to show goodwill?” Chicken Little didn’t.  He hung back, on the opposite side of the alley as Ratcatcher, with Snuff standing beside him, one hand at his shoulder.  Ratcatcher had retreated into the building she’d been planning to escape into, mainly for warmth, and I stood at the doorway, keeping it just ajar enough I could keep an eye on her. Not that she was going anywhere, with Chicken Little holding her pets. “I’m not sure I can,” Chicken Little said. Ratcatcher didn’t make a sound, but the bent nose of her mask flicked around in an alarmed way, her head craning to see Chicken Little through the cracked-open doorway. “Why can’t you?” Tattletale asked. “Because when you said I had to be nonlethal, that’s something I’ve never done before.  It’s like I plant these flags and the birds go to the flag to do whatever it says on the flag.  Attack, wait, watch out, patrol…” “Yes… and?” “And I don’t have a ‘catch but don’t kill’ flag so I just stuck down an ‘attack’ and ‘wait’ flag in the same place and they’re kind of stuck between the two and getting stressed out.  But it worked for them grabbing but not killing.  I can’t really tell one to do one thing and the other to do another, and if I put down more flags they can’t follow because of contradicting orders then they’ll either snap and eat the rats or they’ll both go quiet and let the rats go.” I put up a hand to ease Ratcatcher. “Let them both go then,” Ratcatcher said.  “I’ll cooperate.” “No,” Tattletale said.  “We’ll figure this out.” “They’re my friendth.  I trained them to use the litter boxth, and they bring me thnackth if I’m in bed and I don’t want to get up.  Ratthputin is my betht helper and Templeton is a cuddler.” “Maybe-” Chicken Little started. “Don’t cave,” Tattletale warned him. “Maybe he wasn’t going to cave,” I said.  “If he has a suggestion let him think it through.  It’s his power.” “I was going to cave,” Chicken said.

13.6 Random Words