Soba the spy stretches his long legs in front of him and arches his back. It is almost time time for the morning caretaker to come and he has to be at his best. It is still early in his current mission and he has to feel his way carefully. He isn’t too sure why because they had already identified hi
m, but it always pays to be careful. He can’t really say what went wrong, but they figured out early on that he was Russian and a spy. They even posted it on the window looking into his room and didn’t seem to care. This hadn’t been covered in his mission briefing. He wasn’t sure how to deal with the advertising!
He had arrived mid-May in the carrier his previous handlers bought just for him. The mission was surveillance of the cat room operated by Homeless to Forever Foundation at Petsmart. For all he knew, they were the client too. His coat was shaved to disguise the distinctive blue in his fur from his Russian heritage. Also, two white wings were bleached onto his shoulders. He kept his demeanor quiet and tried to appear shy so they wouldn’t pay too much attention. None of that was effective because the redheaded chief wasn’t fooled. She told all her minions to keep a close eye on Soba! Oh well, one must carry on despite the difficulties.
Things are actually pretty quiet here, no wild parties have occurred as he had been briefed on by his handlers. Soba guesses that since everyone knows he’s a spy, they are toning it down. Next door to him are two gigantic tabbies. When he first met them, he had to look up to see their rather threatening faces. And when he looked down in confusion, he saw feet that looked like his but were three times the size. As time went on, Soba figured out that the two giants, who often scream and yell, are big cowardly babies. There are other residents, such as the tortie babe who lives with an orange tabby. They seem pretty cool, but time will tell. The two that have really made an impression on the spy are two ancient crones who live in the last condo. The older one is half Soba’s size and downright crooked. She wobbles through the residents of the catroom with her own mission in mind. She doesn’t say much, but if looks could kill… Then there is her even tinier sister, who intimidates all with the loudest meow ever heard from a feline. She literally yells. Soba is convinced that in the dead of the night these two are stirring up trouble in their cauldron.
There is security provided by Petsmart that occasionally comes around and makes sure the catroom residents are okay when the caretakers aren’t there. They carry all the keys, so Soba figures they must be at the heart of the mission. There haven’t been any problems with them. Soba is confident that although it has been discovered he is a Russian spy, his natural magnetism will gradually lull everyone into believing he is retired from the spy biz.
All in all, this seems like a really easy assignment. His handlers have come once to take his report and then they were on to other projects. Now it is just a matter of watching, making notes, and waiting for his handlers to shut down the mission. Oh look, here comes this morning’s caretaker. It’s Red. Goody.
With many thanks to Terry S. who took my fantasy of Soba the Spy and wrote his story.