Rat: The Story of a Rat

Episode 4: The Crimes of Grindelwald

It's the 25th of December 1984, Diego Marinara's blood stains the polished floor of the clarinet storage room.  The man who had taught the Rat all he knew had been reduced to a lifeless corpse that was not only bereaved of life and dead, but also not alive. 

But how did we get here?  In order to understand, we need to go back eleven months.

"Good Stephen, good.  You are learning.  You make-a the notes just like mama used to make."

"Thank you kindly," said the Rat. "Say, I can't help but notice the faintest hints of an accent.  Where are you from, Diego?"

"I am from so many different countries that it is impossible to nail down exactly where my accent is from, making it impossible for it to be considered offensive."

"That makes total sense," the Rat replied. "Let's never discuss it again."

"Oh, Stephen. I am sad."

"Eh?" said the Rat, not looking up from his game of angry birds Star Wars 2.

"I needed some money for my wife's Christmas present.  The clarinet teaching market is not as lucrative as it was now that scientists have discovered that clarinets are mostly made out of uranium.  And so, I ended up borrowing money from some shifty people."

"Man, that's wild," said the Rat, not looking up from the two fidget spinners he was balancing on both hands.

"It's a dire state of affairs," said Diego, placing a hand against a rain streaked window and brushing a lock of his lustrous golden hair off his face.  "I borrowed money from a crack squad of Russian assassins."

"Yeah, that'll do it," mumbled the Rat, not looking up from the wooden cup and ball game he was playing with.

"And-a now with my clarinet money waning, I feel I will not be able to pay them back and that they will brutally murder me in, oh, let's say, eleven months."

"Heh, life's funny like that," the Rat replied, placing the final card on a giant house of cards he was constructing.

The sound of something falling through the letterbox caught both of their attention.  Diego scooped up the letter, ripped open the envelope and gave a gasp.

"Le gasp."

'We are going to kill you.' The note read. 'Signed the KGB.'

"Oh my god!" said the Rat. "What could it mean?"

Next time: ...