The Story of Tiberius

Chapter 86

Twenty minutes had passed and Tiberius was still searching.

"Seriously, roguishly handsome and a sparkle in his eyes... was she describing a real person or a Disney prince?" Tiberius muttered under his breath as he soared on the thermals. He had searched Manhattan from downtown to north of Central Park and found nothing. Currently on his way back to the lower parts of the city, he decided to rest and clear his mind. Flying down into an alley, the old red tailed hawk landed on the railing of an apartment building's fire escape just outside a third floor window. Cleaning the feathers on his shoulder quietly, the hawk was startled when he heard a voice call out, "Hey, you there!"

"Yes boss? You don't have to be like that ya know," another voice replied while Tiberius breathed a huge sigh of relief that it wasn't him. Meanwhile, the first voice spoke again, "I know but it's fun."

"Okay, yeah sure. What did you do with the collars?"

"Well, I swallowed the smaller dog's collar while I hid the bigger one."

"Why would you do that?! You're gonna make yourself sick by eating stuff like that! Remember the car keys?!"

"That car has been in that parking lot for three months now."

"Dear lord why..."

"What's the news today?"

"We have a meeting with Snowball, remember?"

"Oh... perfect..."

"Apparently, he found some new recruits."

"Really? Who told you this?"

"Waffles."

"Where's he at?"

"He went back down in the sewers after he told me."

"Let me guess. He sent you to go looking for me?"

"Yep."

"Did you hear anything about the new recruits?"

"Dogs."

"Great, more stupid canines to clutter up the sewers."

"They're the same ones we ransacked this morning."

"But they're domestics!"

"Which is why we should hurry and warn Snowball."

"Agreed. But do you remember the looks on their faces when I chattered my teeth?"

"Yeah, that brown one ran for the hills."

"That little brown and white shorthair screamed like a girl." This caught Tiberius's attention. Unless it was one of those really weird coincidences in life, it appeared that whoever these two were knew Max. More importantly, where he was and what happened to him. At that exact moment, a pair of felines rounded the corner and entered the alley. The first one was a scruffy black cat with a white muzzle and green eyes. His pal had the same shade of green in his own and he had very large ears with holes in them. His long tail waved in the air as he followed his companion towards a sewer grate. Another key fact about the feline was that it was a sphynx cat that looked exactly like the one who killed Rosa. Tiberius's blood ran cold.

His heart pounding in his chest while his talons tightened their grip on the fire escape railing, Tiberius closed his eyes briefly. He could hear his sister's shriek, crying out for help. Opening his light brown eyes to narrow slits, he growled, "For you Rosa." Letting out a screech, the hawk swooped down towards the cats. Both jumped into the air with fright. The black one quickly dove into the sewers. His hairless friend was about to join him but it was too late as the red tail grabbed him by the throat. Landing on a trash can, Tiberius pinned him against the brick wall of the apartment building behind it. The black cat in the sewers yowled, "I'll warn Snowball! Hang in there Ozone!"

"Yeah, okay. You do that," the hairless cat, presumably Ozone, meowed. Snarling in annoyance, Tiberius tightened his grip on the cat's throat. Though his face was beginning to turn blue, the feline merely smiled. Gasping for air, he managed to choke out, "What? You gonna kill me or something?"

"I oughta slaughter you where you stand..." Tiberius hissed. Throwing the hairless cat down on the cracked pavement, he swiftly followed and grabbed Ozone by the throat before he could get away and pinned him under his left foot while he raised his right, ready to strike. Ozone just laughed as he sneered, "What did I do wrong? The only crimes I ever committed in my lifetime is steal from people and torment domestic dogs." Suddenly remembering his mission and what the cats had said earlier, the red tail slowly lowered his right foot. Picking the cat up by the neck, the hawk held a firm grip as he looked Ozone in the eye and hissed, "Speaking of dogs, do you know a brown and white shorthair who answers to the name of Max?"

"Uh... I suppose so. I did swallow his collar after all and it had a nametag on it, though I can't read," Ozone replied, snickering as he gazed off into the distance, probably recalling events from earlier that day. His ears drooping for a moment though, he glanced over at Tiberius as he mumbled, "Why do you want to know?" Returning the gaze evenly, the red tailed hawk murmured, "Cuz my friend is looking for a dog that fits that description." Without another word, he opened his wings and shot into the air, cat in tow.