-- Chapter Seven: A Tremor in the House of Cards --

                    "Jailbreak! Jailbreak!"
                                   --Trigger, _Disney's Robin Hood_

               == Day Nine of Swarm Occupation ==

     "Listen to me, mates," Monterey's voice was low, the dim lighting casting
broad, indiscriminate shadows over his scruffy face. "This can't go on. You blokes
have to bust out of this grip of fear that the blighters here have spun around ya!"
     The large group of rodents shifted uncomfortably in the room, none daring to
met Monterey in the eye.
     Frustration building, Monterey decided not to pull any punches with this
group. "Tell ya what, then." He pointed to the room next to them, separated by a
closed door. The sounds of the children of the camp could be heard dimly through it.
"Go ask Tammy in there what it was like for her to be gassed. She's only a
bloomin' kid! You want to risk your kids like that by refusin' to try and take a
stand?"
     "I don't," Tim stated clearly, causing everyone to shift his eyes to him. "I
have three little girls of my own, and I intend to keep them alive."
     "But what can we do?" one of the mice present asked. "I mean, we're not
fighters. There's no way we could completely escape from this hole. Maybe we can
make it past the fence, but then those horrid swarms of bugs would come flying in
again, and just round us all up all over again."
     "We're not askin' for you to be sudden commandos," Monterey replied. "Just
for you to be willin' to help us try and get everyone in this camp out when the time
is ready."
     "I want to help," another added. "But how? What are we supposed to do?"
     Another one spoke up. "I just want to know what your plan is. I don't want
to risk my life on a wild gamble."
     Monterey wasn't sure how to answer that one. By default, Gadget was the
one who was devising the plan for getting them all out, making it a wild gamble
from the get-go. But fortunately for him, Tim fielded that question.
     "Anything we do to get out of here is going to be a gamble," he answered in a
surprisingly commanding tone of voice. "No matter how fool-proof a plan we can
make, there's always going to be a risk involved. Right now, we've decided that we
won't leave unless everyone is coming. Now, when the time comes, do you want to
be the one to stay behind, and keep everyone else from at least trying?"
     The mouse quieted and looked back down.
     "Blimey, mate, buck up," Monterey quickly added. "I've told you already;
these guards here aren't trained nearly as well as you might think. I made it all
the way to the Jar Chamber and back without being caught, remember? And I came
back with Tammy, no less, and they still never spotted me!"
     "Fine, fine," one of them said. "I think it's safe to say that we all want to
help, but how? What do you want us to do?"
     "It's all very simple, really," Tim answered. "When the signal is given, we
need everyone to help everyone else get loaded into the escape vehicle as quickly as
possible, so we can get out of here while the guards are still trying to re-organize
themselves. We also need some people to work on keeping the guards distracted
when the signal is given, to ensure maximum confusion."
     "What's the signal?"
     Both Monterey and Tim grinned.
     "Trust me, mate," Monterey said, "you'll know it when you see it."

                         *     *     *

     "How?!" Hitter roared again, the termite's already large stature seeming to
grow by the sheer rage burning within him.
     "That's just it, sir," Sand replied, rather nervously. He had never seen Hitter
this enraged before. "We don't know. We never had time to check where that other
power line came from."
     "The bats attacked us around the same time," Grater added, trying to shift the
blame in Hitter's eyes to that flock. "Actually they hit us a bit earlier. Completely
blindsided us. The only reason we managed to save the troops we did was 'cause one of
Sand's boys decided to check--"
     "Silence!" Hitter yelled, then jumped up onto his desk, glaring down at them
all like a servant of doom. He spoke in a low, grating voice as his mandibles clacked
together with sinister meaning. "This was the single most *botched* venture ever in the history
of Swarm. *Ever!* Our primary objective was totally blocked, the morale of the troops
has dropped like a stone, and we lost over ten percent of our active force due to
those blasted bats!"
     He squeezed his eyes shut, then spoke again. "Brickhouse."
     The large red ant swallowed.
     "You were in charge of destroying the back-ups. Did you see *anything* during
your operation that might explain the sudden resumption of power?"
     "No," Brickhouse replied grimly. "To be frank, the blueprints we had gone
over in here were exact to the last detail. Nothing was there to suggest that
something was amiss with the power cables."
     "If I may?" Washboard asked gingerly. Hitter's temper had settled a bit, and
he nodded. He remained standing on the table, however, lording it over them.
     "It stands to reason," the grasshopper explained, "that whatever happened
with the power was not at all related to the humans making any modifications. That
kind of work would have left tell-tale evidence, and what's more, the power was
completely off for a few moments. Therefore, it is my theory that the power must
have somehow been rerouted after it was shut off. It's the only possible
explanation."
     "By who?" Hitter asked lowly.
     Washboard looked hesitant, but replied. "Sir, Zipper is the only one besides
us who knew of our plans."
     "Him?" Hitter scoffed. "I know, I know, he's pulled off spectacular stunts
before, but this would have been beyond any one fly's ability to pull off."
     "He may have had help," Washboard pointed out.
     "He may have," Hitter shrugged, then thought for a moment. Washboard had
a good point. Zipper was the only one who knew of the plans. But admitting that
would also be admitting that Hitter had made a major mistake by letting Zipper sit
in on the plans, and that kind of mistake would weaken his authority. That would not
do. There had to be -- wait! "Of course," he said slowly. "No, It wasn't Zipper,
Washboard," Hitter growled. "It was him." He pointed to the battered fedora
hanging as a trophy on his wall.
     The others were a bit confused. "Who?"
     "Chip Justice," Hitter snarled, hopping down from his desk, walking over to
the hat, and snatching it off in a fit of fury.
     "But I thought he was crushed underneath that brick...." Sand began.
     "They didn't bring back a body, did they?" Hitter replied. "I told you all
before; get proof of death before you believe an enemy is dead, and even then don't
be too sure."
     "So you're saying that this Chip character was behind it?" Brickhouse asked.
     "I'm sure of it," Hitter nodded, turning the hat over in his hands. "He's the
leader of the Rescue Rangers for a reason, Brickhouse. He always manages to pull
their hides out of the flames, doesn't he?"
     The others glanced at each other. Hitter did have a case, although they didn't
put that much stock in the power of mammals. Except for Grater. After the way
those bats had decimated his troops, he held a grudging new respect for "softskins".
     "But whatever the case, it doesn't matter right now. Chip will get his, I
assure you," Hitter tossed the hat back on the desk before turning back to face
them. "Now then, in addition to tonight's major foul-up, I also understand that
the Jar Chamber was completely destroyed as well. By a single mouse, no less,"
he grumbled.
     Sand nodded gravely. In truth, though, he was relieved that he had been able
to bring the news to Hitter before the talk of tonight's mission began. If Hitter
knew that Sand wanted to lie about it at first... well, the wasp decided not to
dwell on that unpleasant circumstance.
     Hitter shook his head in disgust. "Keep the guards who were stationed there
confined to that area for now, until they manage to construct a new Jar Chamber.
This means we'll have to dig up and clean out some more jars from the landfill, of
course, which will just waste more of our all-too precious time."
     Sand nodded. "If I may suggest, sir, we should also reassign some of the
more experienced soldiers to bolster the guards, now that Operation Infest has been
delayed indefinitely. With them out there, chances of that disaster happening again
will be gone."
     "I understand your concerns, Sand, but after the beating Grater's troops took,
we need every insect available to fight out on the front lines," Hitter replied.
"Now more than ever, no less."
     Sand sighed, but nodded his compliance.
     "Very well, now listen up. All of you," Hitter's voice was becoming dark
once more. "I am *very* upset at our current state of affairs. Not more than one day
ago, we were in complete control, and now we have been slapped around like a rag
doll. If so much as *one* more thing happens that threatens Swarm's presence as the
true rulers of this city, I will have no choice but to take drastic action. Is that
clear, gentlemen?"
     The four advisors nodded warily, noticing for the first time the unnerving fire
which seemed to be burning just behind Hitter's eyes. None of them wanted to be
burned by it.

                         *     *     *

     In the camp, the prisoners were acting well-behaved as they walked about.
Tim had his children in tow, while Monterey and Tammy watched over Bink and
Henry playing from their spot by the front door.
     "Kids sure grow up fast..." Monterey remarked offhandedly, watching Bink.
"Seems only a few days ago that Bink was still wearin' diapers. Same with you,
Tammy," he smiled at her. "Grown, I mean. Not the diaper bit."
     Tammy chuckled and nodded. Now in her late teens, she was taller than
Monterey. "Yeah, time flies when you're having fun, I guess. Things have changed
a bit since then. I like to think that I'm a bit more mature these days." She
smiled. "I doubt it, though."
     Monterey winked at her. "Still have that crush on Chip?"
     She grinned. "Maybe."
     "Still want to be a Rescue Ranger? We haven't seen much of you since you
went back to school."
     "I don't know, Monty," Tammy replied, shrugging her shoulders. "I mean,
mom taught Bink and me for the most part. Mom just thought I could benefit from
some public schooling. Get to meet others my age, you know? Anyway, I want to
finish school first, and even before then, I want to get out of this place." She
shuddered.
     "Tammy?" Monterey asked gently. "What happened to your mom when all
this happened?"
     Tammy shivered slightly, then shook her head. "I don't know, Monty. I really
don't. Bink and I were out at the playground when we were captured. I have no clue
where mom is right now. I'm hoping she was never caught in the first place. I've
been telling Bink that she's safe, and I sound sure of it when I tell her, so she
believes me. But it can't last forever. Sooner or later, she's going to start
worrying why mom hasn't shown up for so long."
     "I know what you mean. Gadget's been tellin' Henry the same thing, even
though his mother is one of the ones who didn't make it."
     "I'm... sorry," Tammy quietly said, hoping her own mother wasn't in that
group. Then, changing the subject, "Where is Gadget, anyway? You think she's had
any problems up there? I mean, it's been a while."
     "Don't you worry 'bout Gadget," Monterey chuckled. "The lass seems to be
blessed at times. She'll be droppin' in before you know it."
     Bink stopped where she was and looked up, brushing off some dirt that
had fallen on her from the ceiling. Monterey noticed this, and in an eyeblink made the
connection. "Tim!" he shouted as he ran for Bink and Henry to get them out of the
way. "It's time, me bucko!"
     He scooped up Bink and Henry under his arms as the ceiling above them
caved in, dropping a large, bulky machine of some sort right where the kids had
been playing only moments before. It appeared to be a run-down tank, of sorts. Two
large mailboxes had been fused together, with several wheels from Tonka trucks
installed along the sides. A bizarre device constructed from a fan blade and a
series of trowel pieces was on the bottom, currently retracted and safely tucked
up on the underside -- Monterey guessed that was how it had dug down here in the
first place.
     The front end had been cut away and replaced with part of a television
screen, while a door had been cut out from the side. It was pushed open, swinging
down to the ground, steps on the backside providing a way up into the rather
makeshift APC.
     Sure enough, a yellowish-orange blonde head poked out. "Come on, people,
let's go!" Gadget called out.
     While the APC had dropped in, Tim and a few others around the camp
followed their plans to distract the guards by lobbing bags of pepper, discreetly
smuggled from a few supply wagons, into the watchtowers. Monterey didn't bother
with anything so fancy, and merely ran up to the nearest tower, and using all of his
strength, pushed it over, crashing it down into the fence around the camp.
     The others were quickly piling into the APC, which Gadget had equipped
with rows of seats (complete with seat belts this time) from front to back. Tim
hoisted his three girls inside, where Gadget quickly strapped them in while he ran
back out to help the weaker prisoners to make it over.
     As Monterey had guessed, few of the guards were prepared enough to
actually do anything, and he dealt with them personally, leaping into the
midst of them with a hoot and a holler. The passion of a good ol' fashioned brawl
running through his blood, Monterey made short work of them, then darted over to
the APC.
     "Everyone in?" he asked as he climbed aboard.
     "All here and accounted for," Tammy nodded, already strapped in with Bink
next to her, also buckled up.
     Monterey slammed the door shut and latched it while Gadget hopped back
into the driver's seat. Tim was already in the passenger side, and motioned for
Monterey to take the seat positioned in a the center of the front half, halfway
off the floor. "It's the bubble turret gun," he called out. "At least, that's
what Gadget said." Monterey decided not to bother asking questions and hopped in,
strapping himself in securely.
     "Okay everyone," Gadget called out. "Hang on to your goggles! The Magic
APC Ride is now commencing!" She slammed the conglomeration of spare parts
into gear, the numerous wheels digging into the dirt, powered by several dozen 9V
batteries. It tore across the compound, tearing a hole in the fence and ripping
through one of the watchtowers in its wake.
     Monterey peered out from the small plastic bubble in the roof, with the slot
cut out of the back side to allow the swivel-mounted set of empty ink pens room to
pivot, covering the rear arc. Monterey wasn't sure what exactly Gadget had rigged
up for them to fire, and hoped he wouldn't be forced to find out.
     The Magic APC lurched and rattled as it raced along the passage leading
away from the concentration camp, everyone within it glad they hadn't had a big
breakfast earlier that morning.
     "Where are we going?" Tim asked over the noise.
     "Out of here!" Gadget replied, stubbornly arguing with the controls to keep
the APC pointed straight ahead, rather than swerving into the walls as it seemed
wont to do.
     "Can you be a bit more specific?" Tim questioned.
     "Not really," Gadget answered with a shrug.
     "Great...."
     "Gadget-luv, we have company!" Monterey announced. He could see a patrol
of wasps catching up fast with them from behind.
     "Use the bubble-turret guns!"
     "How?"
     "Pull the trigger!"
     "Why do I even ask?" Monterey grumbled as he moved the guns around
behind him and, giving thanks that Gadget didn't say they "should" work, squeezed
the trigger. A loud, wet popping sound was heard as he saw globs of something
firing from the ink pen casings, although he couldn't tell what they were. Whatever
they were, however, they did the trick. The wasps he managed to pelt with them
went down in a daze and out for the count.
     "Blimey, luv," Monterey called out. "These things work pretty well. What are
they?"
     "Old pieces of used bubblegum," Gadget responded, "stored in a tank of WD-40 so they
don't risk sticking to the tubes."
     "Bubblegum?" Tim repeated, not sure he heard that right.
     "Well, golly, sure! I mean, I was working in a landfill -- do you have any idea
as to how much used gum was in there? We have enough bubblegum ammo to take
out a whole armada!"
     "It's a good thing, because I think we'll need it!" Tim shouted, pointing
ahead. Looking through the television screen, Gadget spotted a large cluster of
ants, termites, and cockroaches moving in.
     "I can't move the turret around to face the front," Monterey said. "The slot
only covers the rear arc, not the front."
     "It's not supposed to!" Gadget noted. "Tim, see those buttons in front of
you?"
     Tim glanced at the control panel in front of him and spotted two large red
buttons. "Yeah."
     "When I tell you to, press them both and hold them down until we get
through the insects."
     "Got it!"
     Gadget waited until they were almost on top of the bug blockade. "Now!"
     Tim pressed down on the buttons with all his might, and from under the APC,
a set of spray nozzles shot forth a fine mist of some kind of spray, directly into the
insects. The cloud seemed to be  harmful, as the insects coughed and sputtered,
stumbling off to the side and out of the way. The APC plowed through the insects
that remained in the way, knocking them aside like flimsy debris.
     When he finally let go of the buttons, Tim turned to Gadget. "What was that
stuff?"
     "Watered-down Raid! I found a few old bottles of it, and mixed it down to
where it would only make them sick!"
     "Pretty slick!"
     "Thanks! But they aren't slick -- the WD40 tank only pipes into the
bubblegum gun."
     "Knock off the chit-chat you two," Monterey advised. "We're not out of
here yet."
     Gadget steered them around a number of corners, sometimes taking the
corners so close that the Magic APC bounced off of the passageway before she
managed to regain control of it. In one case, they swerved right around to face off
against a huge squad of soldiers who had set up an ambush.
     "Gadget!" Tim yelled in warning. "Problem!"
     "Wrong!" Gadget replied, flipping a lever next to her. "No problems!"
     "Have mercy on us," Monterey whispered to the heavens.
     The Magic APC stopped and suddenly began to drop, the floor apparently
rising up around them.
     "What the...?" Tim glance around.
     "It's the digging unit on the bottom," Gadget told him. "According to the
map," she tapped roughly bound stack of papers in front of her, "it'll drop us
into a tunnel directly below this one."
     "When did you get a map?"
     "I drew it up from what I remembered about this place."
     "And you looked at it while driving?"
     "Goodness, no! That wouldn't be safe! I glanced at it before I came for you
guys."
     Tim was about to state that a quick glance over a map Gadget had drawn up
from what she *thought* was the layout was hardly a safe thought process, but he was
prevented from doing so as the Magic APC broke through the roof of the tunnel below them,
landing with another ungraceful clamor.
     "I'm going to have to replace the shocks on this thing sooner than I thought,"
Gadget murmured to herself, annoyed.
     "You memorized the layout of this place that quick?" Tim stared at her,
amazed.
     "Yeah," Gadget causally mentioned as she turned off the digging unit and
shoved the Magic APC back into gear. "I had a few minutes before the batteries
were done charging."
     Careening down another tunnel, the Magic APC rocketed over the rough
Earth.
     "So where are we?" Tim asked again.
     "Not too far from one of their back exits," Gadget replied. "They have exits
leading to the surface from every level, to make sure escape is possible in case
of a fire or flood or something. It'll also keep us from running into any part of
Swarm."
     "What about them?" Tim gulped, spotting another full-bodied mass of flying
insects rounding a corner and heading straight for them.
     "Well, except for those sent after us, I mean. Man the spray! Or, squirrel the
spray-- whatever."
     "Check!" Tim got into position, and this time didn't need Gadget's cue,
hitting the buttons the minute that the insects were in range. As they plowed
through the cloud of diluted Raid and weakened bugs, however, Tim looked worried.
     "I hope we're close to the exit," he remarked, "because we're all out of
spray." He pressed the buttons a few more times, but nothing came out. "They're
bone-dry."
     "Not to worry," Gadget cheerfully stated. "See?"
     A slope leading upwards was directly in front of them, the trace of sunlight
spilling down.
     "All right!" Tim cheered as they bounced up the incline, settling into a
smooth acceleration towards the patch of light not too far off.
     "Oh no!" Tim gasped as the light at the end of the tunnel began to cloud over
and one last mass of cockroaches and beetles moved to close off the exit. Dirt
began to spill over the entrance as the insects quickly began working on the walls.
     "They're trying to collapse the tunnel in on us!" Tim shouted.
     Tammy hugged Bink tightly, trying to protect her little sister, though she
didn't know how.
     "Even if we had spray, it wouldn't be able to reach them until it was too
late," Tim groaned.
     Part of the exit collapsed down, cutting off half the sunlight outside.
     "We're just not fast enough!" Gadget grimaced, flooring it.
     "Too bad they're not behind us," Monterey growled. "I could knock those
blighters off of the walls and into next week, no sweat."
     Gadget's face lit up. "Tim! Open the door and guide me!"
     "What?! What are you--?"
     "Just do it!"
     "Okay, okay!" Tim unfastened himself from his seat, stumbled over to the
door, unlatched it, and dropped it open, scrapping it along the ground.
     Gadget held her breath as she hit the brakes and jerked the steering controls
hard to the left. The Magic APC skidded along in a 180 degree spin, winding up
with its rear facing the exit.
     Tim, realizing what Gadget was up to, swallowed hard. "You can't be ser--"
     "Here we go!" Gadget rammed the gears into reverse and slammed the
throttle into full, tearing up at the exit.
     "Yeah!" Monterey laughed, firing unabatedly on the insects around the exit.
The guns chewed through the used gum ammunition as he knocked the various bugs
off of the walls and out into the open beyond the exit.
     "Careful!" Tim yelled, looking out to direct Gadget while hoping his head
wasn't taken off. "You're too close to the wall! Move to the right! Your *other*
right!"
     The remaining beetles and cockroaches near the entrance watched in awe as
the Magic APC barreled up the slope towards them at full steam. They dodged to the side,
hoping to clear the hole before it came ramming through.
     "This is it!" Tim warned, ducking his head back in as the Magic APC plowed
rear end first through the collapsed section of the exit, which wasn't enough to
stop it. The beetles and cockroaches scattered off to the sides as it ran over the
short, dead, brown grass. Having actually liked it the last time, Gadget repeated
the 180 degree maneuver, getting the APC facing in the right direction again.
     Tim wasn't as appreciative, though, as he went flying back into the APC,
bouncing off of the opposite wall with a thud.
     "Oops, sorry Tim," Gadget grinned sheepishly, putting the APC back into
gear and hightailing it away from Swarm's Headquarters.
     "Wish you'd warn me," he muttered, crawling back over to the door, shutting
and latching it, then climbing back into his seat and fastening his safety belt.
     "Where to?" Monterey asked.
     "Let's head back to the tree," Gadget replied over the clatter of the speeding
APC. "We can rest and regroup there. I'm guessing that there are still some supplies
in the storerooms that haven't been touched since our capture. It'll be a bit of a
drive, but after the fiasco in the Headquarters, I think Swarm will be more
concerned with getting over their defeat, rather than trying to find us."
     "Sunlight?" Bink blinked as she looked through the television screen at the
blue sky outside, for the first time in over a week.
     "It's okay, Bink," Tammy smiled down at her little sister. "We're free."

                         *     *     *

     Hitter looked out over the destroyed concentration camp with distaste. He
wasn't livid, or even angry, not really. He had burned out of that stage for now. Instead,
he merely felt an immense sense of dissatisfaction and disappointment. A large
vehicle had literally dropped into the place, loaded up the prisoners, and driven
off. Simple as that. Despite what the guards had said, it was a simple case of 
incompetence on their part. He was glad now that he had decided not to spend the 
time trying to train these saps, as it would have obviously been wasted on them.
     "Most of the guards were injured, whether in the initial attack or the
subsequent chase," Sand explained as they walked around the area. The rest of the
advisors were elsewhere in the Headquarters, no doubt shaking their heads in
dismay over yet another sign of weakness in Swarm. Well, no more, as far as Hitter
was concerned. He fully intended to follow through on his promise to take drastic
measures to keep Swarm strong.
     "Are the guards involved with this event still here?" he asked.
     "Yes sir," Sand nodded. "As with the Jar Chamber incident, I keep all the
guards involved confined to the area. To prevent them from spreading the news and
lowering morale even further. Although I'm not sure what good it would do in this
case," he shrugged, "as we actually raised the alarm that we were being attacked."
     "But the rest of the compound here have no clue that it was in fact an escape
attempt, and a successful one at that. All they need to know is that we were
attacked by unknown aggressors, who, while we were unable to capture them, were 
still driven off without harming any of Swarm's major operations." Hitter chuckled.
"The troops don't need to know anything besides that."
     Sand agreed with the reasoning.
     "How's the Jar Chamber coming along?" Hitter asked suddenly.
     "Oh, uh, just fine, sir," Sand replied, caught a bit off guard by the question.
"The reconstruction isn't as quick as we like, but proceeding--"
     "Are any of the Jars set up yet?" Hitter interrupted.
     "Well, not all of them were broken, so we do have a few--"
     "Excellent," Hitter clasped his hands behind his back. "I want you to take all
of the insects involved with this concentration camp breakout," he waved a hand to
included the scores of insects around them, "and have them gassed at the Chamber."
     "What?" Sand's eyes widened.
     "We don't want them to be spreading rumors, Sand," Hitter replied
nonchalantly. "And they will unless they're permanently dealt with."
     "But--but sir!" Sand pleaded. "Isn't this a bit extreme?"
     "Nonsense. We won't be losing anything, that's for sure."
     "We can retrain--"
     "We don't have the resources or the time, and you know it as well as I!"
Hitter suddenly snapped, turning to glare at the wasp. "I'm not going to reassign
them to yet another guard post, either, as there's no doubt they'll bungle that as
well. No, it's time to crack down."
     "But they're *insects*, sir!" Sand insisted. "I can understand the softskins,
but to do this to our own kind--"
     "Is something that we have to do if we want to succeed in Swarm's goals,"
Hitter said coldly. "*Never* forget that, Sand." He turned and started off.
     "I thought protecting each other *was* Swarm's goal, sir," Sand stated evenly.
     Hitter stopped and turned around with a smirk. "Don't be so naive, Sand.
You know full well Swarm has bigger fish to fry than to play peacekeeper to
everyone. Those that oppose us, either through direct action or incompetence such
as theirs," he motioned to the guards once more, "aren't worthy of the title of Insecta,
regardless of their heritage. Now snap to it. You have a job to do, and I want it 
done before nightfall."
     He turned and walked back towards the passageway, leaving Sand standing
in a mixture of disbelief, fear, and doubt.

                         *     *     *

     The large oak tree in the center of the park was a sight for sore eyes. Gadget
and Monterey both wore fond smiles as it came into view, lush green and rich
brown in the late afternoon sun. The rest of the rodents also had cheerful
expressions on their faces, happy to actually be above ground for the first time in
over a week.
     Gadget had parked the Magic APC in the bushes at the edge of the park,
rather than scare any humans who might be around, so the occupants had all hiked
across the beautiful landscape behind the two Rangers, who were leading the way.
Gadget figured they could do a rough conversion of the tree into a temporary
shelter for everyone while she, Monterey, Tim, and any other volunteers worked to
get ready for a return to Swarm's domain.
     "We should head into the garage at the base of the tree," Gadget mentioned
to Monterey and Tim. "Everyone can rest there until I rig up a quick pulley elevator
to hoist up the people who can't make the climb themselves."
     "I know of a few who'll like that," Tim said with a smile, looking down at
Serena in his arms. He was glad to be holding her again -- during Gadget's Wild
Ride out of Swarm's complex, Cindy had had the honor of holding the baby squirrel.
Serena was asleep again, and Gadget had to wonder if she had ever seen a more peaceful
baby.
     "We should also see 'bout gettin' some food for everyone," Monterey added.
"We should have enough for now, but if some need to stay for a longer time, it'd
pay to be ready for it."
     "Yeah, good idea, Monty," Gadget nodded, looking back to the tree.
     "Is that the garage?" Tim asked, nodding towards a small opening in the base
of the tree.
     Gadget came to a halt and the edge of the bush they were behind, spotting the
hole as well. "Hmm. Yeah, but the garage door shouldn't be open like that," she
mused.
     Monterey shrugged. "Chances are someone's been hidin' out there, tryin' to
avoid Swarm's patrols."
     "Probably. Let's check it out first, just to be sure," Gadget decided. "I'd
rather not give all of our fellow travelers a scare in case we run into trouble."
     Tim handed Serena back to Cindy, telling her to hold her sister for a little 
bit while daddy helped their friends to get the place ready. Then he stood up and
addressed the crowd. "Hey everyone, we're here, but we just want to check to make
sure that the place hasn't been trashed beyond belief or isn't safe to stay in. Wait
here, and we'll be right back."
     The crowd nodded in agreement; they certainly didn't have any desire to
exert any more energy on this day. Well, except for one.
     "Excuse me--pardon me--can I fit by here?--'cuse me..." Tammy wormed her
way up next to Tim.
     "Tammy...." he started, unable to hide his smile.
     "Come on, Tim," she replied with a smug look, "I know you guys aren't
expecting any trouble, so just let me come along. I still have a bit of energy left."
     "Fine," Tim chuckled. "I'm saving my arguing energy for when my girls are
teens."
     "Let's go," Gadget motioned them to follow her as she headed off across the
grass. The others followed closely behind.
     She stepped up to the side of the tree, deciding not to just go waltzing 
directly in, in case there was something within that shouldn't be. As she and the 
rest began to sneak around, they were able to make out a few voices.
     "...all right," a low, somewhat gruff one was saying. "I'd much prefer to
disarm and disable in this case, but I am biased."
     Gadget thought she heard some buzzing, like from insects, and started to feel
that gnawing fear in her stomach again.
     "True, but we need to get the prisoners out before we flush the place,"
another voice said, one that Gadget knew like she knew her favorite element's
atomic weight. It was the voice of a certain headstrong and stubborn chipmunk....
     She darted around the corner, and the others, thinking she might be trying to
gain the surprise on someone, quickly followed after her. They all stopped in the
doorway to the garage, seeing a fair number of bees and ants milling about -- but
more importantly, in the center were two Rangers, looking as surprised as Gadget
and the rest.
     Greetings were exchanged as they usually are among reunited teams.
     "Gadget!"
     "Chip!"
     Monty!
     "Zinger!"
     "Tammy!"
     Tim!
     "Zipper!"
     "Chief!"
     "McCloud!"
     "Rocky!"
     "Uuh!"
     Orkin shot a glare at the ants who had added the last four shouts, all of whom
held up their hands and shrugged apologetically. The rest of the group hadn't
noticed, however, so it really didn't matter that much.
     Gadget dove and tackled Chip in a ferocious hug, kissing him firmly on the
cheek. "I missed you," she breathed.
     "Uh... uh.... uh..." Chip's brain, currently a warm pile of mush, was unable to
fathom a response.
     "Blimey," Monterey shouted with a grin, snatching Zipper into a friendly
headlock, "where ya been, mate?! I've been worried sick about you and your sis!"
He nodded respectively to Zinger, who giggled and curtsied.
     Erg, Zipper squeaked out with a smile, it's good to see you too, Monty!
     Orkin and Queenie stood back and watched.
     "Isn't it heartwarming?" she cooed.
     "For the love of Pete..." Orkin grumbled, turning away to work on something
until the others were done with the sappiness.

                         *     *     *

     "We got lucky here," Chip said with a smile as he glanced about the garage.
"Since the attack was meant to capture us, they only trashed the upstairs. 
They never knew we had this down here."
     "Golly, makes me glad I never got around to putting in the stairwell," Gadget
giggled. "Gosh, I just remembered! I'd better get cracking on that elevator to move
everyone up to the upstairs -- it's already evening outside!" The main door was
closed, so she had completely lost track of time.
     "No need," Tim stated. "Just being out in the fresh air has renewed most
everyone's strength, and the one or two who couldn't make it up, the others
carried. They're already starting to sack out in the living room. I just told them 
to push the debris aside for now; hope you don't mind."
     Not in the least, Zipper conveyed with a shake of his head. Let them sleep.
You told them to keep the lights out, correct?
     Tim nodded, and chuckled slightly. "They know that light attracts insects. In
other circumstances, that's not all too unusual, but none of them want to risk it 
being the less-tolerant Swarm that's attracted."
     Orkin motioned to Queenie. "Her guys and mine are keeping watch in the
branches and around the area, too. If something moves in, we'll know ahead of
time."
     Chip nodded, glad no windows were in the garage, allowing them the luxury
of using a light. "Okay then, we still have to plan out our return to Swarm, so
let's get cracking."
     "Golly, that's right!" Gadget glanced around at the garage. "Let me check a
few things while you guys work on the details." She padded off to begin inspecting
the various inventions she had lying around. Most were up in her workshop,
undoubtedly trashed, but still, the Van was parked here, and held a few items itself.
     "Right then," Monterey leaned over the plans that Zipper had sketched out.
"This here is the actual layout of the place, Zip?"
     I took the time to get to know the place when I was looking for you and Chip,
Zipper's nod answered. To the best of my knowledge, it's accurate.
     Gadget, passing by to get one of her tools, glanced at the plans and nodded
approvingly. "They're accurate," she smiled, then went back about her work.
     "How does she do that?" Tim asked quietly, after she was out of earshot.
     "Trust me," Chip advised, "it's a mystery of nature to this day."
     Anyway, Zinger's buzzing called their attention back to the matters at hand,
these are the locations of the concentration camps. I doubt Hitter has made any
modifications to them, like moving them or whatever, just because he seemed too
busy licking his wounds and getting angry all the time.
     "Hitter losin' his cool?" Monterey shook his head. "Not a good sign, mates.
He may have gone completely 'round the bend. One hop short of a kangaroo
license, if you catch me drift."
     I know, Zipper gravely nodded. If he falls, there's no telling how many he'll
drag down with him in his death throes.
     "Which is why we have to make sure both insects and mammals are freed
from that place," Queenie noted, managing to sound regal, commanding, soft, and
suggesting all at once.
     "That's wh--" Chip's assurance was cut off as the door burst open, one of
Queenie's bees standing there, eyes wide.
     "Something's flying in, your Highness!" he announced, immediately setting
everyone on "alert" mode.
     "Quick," Chip said as he stepped out the door, wishing he had his hat to tug
comfortingly on, "douse the light -- and be quiet when you come out here."
     Being the closest, Gadget switched off the light, then followed the rest
outside, shutting the door behind her.
     High above, a glowing crescent moon gave some illumination to the
surrounding park. The group took cover in the grass, while Queenie and Orkin went
to let their swarms know what was going on. Sure enough, high above, a cloud of
indistinct forms in flight was in view. Hopefully, if it was Swarm, they would just be passing
overhead, and would not notice them. Otherwise, the Rangers hidden in the grass would
have to give the signal to Queenie and Orkin, and... well... no matter the outcome,
the probability was high that any victory would be Pyrrhic at best.
     To their dismay, the rodents watched as the cloud seemed to be heading
directly for the tree, growing larger against the backdrop of the grinning Cheshire
Cat moon.
     But, as the cloud drew near, Zipper realized that the occupants were too big
to be flying insects, and too quiet.
     Well, almost too quiet.
     "Hey Foxy! Can you just swoop in and drop me off right at the bathroom? I
really can't hold it much longer."
     "I told you to go before we left, honey...."
     The Rangers stood up, gaping. The movement caught Foxglove's and Dale's
attention, and there were a rapid series of moonlight recognitions.
     "Dale?!"
     "Chip!"
     "Foxglove?"
     "Gadget?"
     "Chie--ow!"
     "Not again, Tom," Orkin grumbled to the ant whom he had just bopped. The
ant shrugged in response, grumbling.
     Foxglove deftly swooped down to the ground, alighting in front of Gadget
after putting Dale down next to Chip.
     "You're okay!" Dale yelled happily, roughly hugging his best friend.
     "Ack!" Chip laughed. "You're still the master of the obvious, Dale!" He
hugged his life-long friend back. "I knew you'd be too dense to get hurt in this
mess."
     "I have a feeling I should feel insulted," Dale grinned, "but I'm just too glad
to see you're okay to hurt you. Yet."
     "Me too buddy," Chip stated with a chuckle. "Me too."
     "What are you doing here, Foxglove?" Gadget asked cheerfully. "And are all
those bats your friends?" She pointed above them to the large mass of bats lazily
gliding overhead.
     "Well," Foxglove blushed at the thought that she had so many friends. "I've
known of this clan for a bit, at least."
     Despite the Rangers' apparent cordiality with the bats, the swarms nearby
decided to remain hidden -- mingling with people who normally eat you isn't exactly
relaxing. Only Queenie departed to greet Foxglove, whom she had met once before,
when Foxglove had been named an honorary Ranger.
     The small group quickly caught up on what had happened, Dale being a bit
depressed that he didn't have the most interesting tale. Gadget and Monterey's story
of how they broke out the rest of the camp beat everyone else's hands down. A hug from
Foxglove, however, cheered him right back up.
     During his turn, Chip did explain about how he had managed to survive the
sewers, but never said a word about Victoria. They had enough on their plates at the
moment, and the last thing Dale, and especially Foxglove, needed was another
major concern for their future. The black widow also had no desire to go anywhere
until Swarm was disposed of, giving them some time. He'd have to tell them
eventually, but later.
     Foxglove headed up to talk to the bats, while Dale tore up the side of the tree
to the bathroom -- heedful of the fact that several people were currently asleep in 
the Ranger tree; hopefully, one of the restrooms was free. And working.
     The remainder of the bats settled in the nearby trees, aware that both Queenie and
Orkin had swarms in and near the large oak. These insects were friends, and
not to be eaten. While some of the bats weren't entirely happy about this (they were
hungry, to be precise), they agreed with Foxglove that co-operation between all
parties on hand would be needed for the future rescue plan.
     Back in the garage, Foxglove and Dale joined the planning group around the
layouts of Swarm's HQ. Zipper had a solid idea on how to take down Swarm
(thanks to hearing about how Gadget and the rest had escaped), but keeping the
prisoners from being harmed was the only thing that they weren't clear on, and they
dared not move until that was settled.
     "The main thing is that we need to figure out way to verify that the camps are
still in the same places," Chip sighed. "We can move in tonight, since everyone will
be back from the pits, but we can't be too sure about the actual camp locations
unless we can sight-verify them."
     "No way to get in, spot 'em, and then get out to tell the rest, though,"
Monterey grumbled. "And surprise would be a bonza asset for this raid -- " he
glanced up at Queenie and Orkin "If you'll excuse the expression."
     They waved it aside.
     Gadget's mind kept circling around the transport problem. She glanced at the
Van, primed and ready to roll, but it wouldn't work for what Monterey was
suggesting. More importantly, she felt that it would be better suited in another
role. But fast transport in a dark, confined area? She hated to admit it, but she
was stumped.
     "It's too bad we can't wait on this, so I could build something to do that,"
Gadget mentioned. "It'd only take a day or two."
     By then it might be too late, Zipper said with a shake of his head. We need to
take down Hitter now, while he's still unbalanced from the loss at the hospital and
the breakout you made.
     "I know Zip," Gadget lowered her head. "I just wish I could think of
something that could move swiftly through dark tunnels."
     "Why Gadget," Foxglove grinned, "have you forgotten that some of us can do
it with our eyes closed?"
     "Golly," Gadget blinked, surprised she hadn't thought of that.
     "And we usually do, just to show off."
     "Golly, again." The two ladies shared a grin, each of them thinking down the
same pathway.
     "Should we ask?" Dale asked Chip, leaning over to his best friend.
     "Well," Chip twisted his mouth into a smirk, "what do you think?"
     "I think what we don't know can't hurt us."
     "Smart lad."