K-9 Agency: The Gravy.

In an old dark abandon meat factory, a gruff looking bullmastiff sporting a ski-cap and blue muscle shirt was carrying a meek and frighten red and white tabby under arm, while holding a can of tuna on his other hand.

“Wha-what are you going do to me?” sputtered the cat.

“Shaddup!” was the mastiff’s response, “It not me who going to do… ‘do’ on you, it’s da Boss-Dog who wants to talk to ya.”

It was bad enough that he was stuck at the zoo as soon as a “Sabertooth Alley Catus” with a pair of flase razor sharp-fangs, but then this dog yanked him out in the middle of night. The cat was grateful that the dog got that ridiculous outfit off of him… except the stuff was glued on from the last dog the cat encounter and having to part with his false teeth was painful…

The mastiff opened a door, where a big, and strangle clean, square table was in the middle of a dark room, with a single chair and a single light that barely lit the room. The dog placed the cat into the chair, which was place on the far corner of table, while he placed the tuna-can on the adjacent side. As soon as that was done, a small gray mouse popped out of the can, which was already opened and mostly clean of its fish contents. The mouse shook his fist in rage at the massive mastiff.

“I suffered enough indignity to one bully already, AND I AM NOT GOING SUFFER ANYMORE FROM ANOTHER!” the small rodent yelled with a great rage that was hindered with his meek voice. The mastiff responded with a deep growl, ready to take the little pipsqueak on in a fist fight.

“Clam yourselves.” Said a deep, and somewhat, gruff and suave voice from the other end of the table, which was still hidden in the shadows. With those 2 words, the three animals stop bickering, and from the shadows, a fish and a chunk of cheese slid towards the cat and mouse respectfully, who chow down on them with only a second of hesitation to make sure they were real…

“But, Boss…” ask the mastiff,

“Armano, leave.” Said the shadow, and the mastiff quietly obeyed as he left the room closed the door behind him, leaving the cat and mouse alone with their mysterious benefactor. Not that they cared mind you, they were too busy enjoying the first decent meal in months. But the cat immediately stop when he notice that his host step into the light, and he then stopped eating.

“I-I know you.” The cat said, feeling the dread he experience coming back, “You’re the head of the stray gang… the diabolical Doberman… Ragan…”

The mouse began to choke as he heard the name , “R-R-Ragan?” he manage to mutter out while a piece of cheese was still in his throat.

The Doberman manage to pull several impossibilities with his looks. He looked sleek in spite having somewhat ruffled fur, and he also managed his whiskers to become a pair of long, thin mustache, which he twirled in his tanned paws as he addressed his guests, “I see my reputation precedes me.”

“S-S-sir!” squeak the mouse, “I have done nothing wrong. I been as meek and been force to follow the commands of others. Please, show mercy! Show Compassion! Show kindn-”

Ragan glared down at the little mouse as he picked the small gray creature up between his two claws and brought the little mouse to his eye level… his big, scowling, bloodshot, yellow and black eye level.

“Shut up, you!” he barked, and then the Doberman slam-dunk the mouse back into his little tuna-can, and began to pace around the two animals, like a predator on his helpless prey.

“You maybe wondering why I have you here. Well, I just wanted to know a few things.” He said right before ducking under the table and producing a WANTED picture of a meaning looking brown bull dog. “Mostly of HIM!” A cold shudder went down the cat’s spin as he look at the picture of his once tormentor after thinking that he seen the last of him.

“You see,” said the Ragan, circling around the cat and mouse, disappearing and reappearing in the shadows and light of the room, “I run a little racket to keep my fellow strays… happy and cooperative… I need something to stay ahead of my brother” Ragan seem gave have an angry growl as he said the word 'brother."
“Basically, I let some homeless cats find some homes to stay in, and in return of giving them the good life, they just give some surplus food their owners have to the gang that help them. I was thinking dogs, but humans are too cautious with fellow canines, as such there are so many strays here in the city, but cats come and go as they please, and able to butter those hairless apes with that little disgusting purring sound.” Ragan than give the cat a harsh look of immense hatred, but then he recomposes himself, “But I digress. Basically it is a 4-animal job. The cat gets the family, the mouse for added points, the dogs who deliver the meat to me, and of course, me at the top to give to my fellow brother-strays…. Until THIS dog, one of my grunts, got greedy, cut ME off of MY system, and made himself the top dog in his own racket. He always did complain about never getting enough meat, let alone whining over gravy; I was almost glad when he left… until I found this interesting article…” Ragan then slink back in the shadows and returned with a newspaper, and on the coverpage, it had safari hunter that strangely covered with brown hair on his entire body but had a red bushy mustache, while wearing nothing but a safari hat. Along with him was his trusty short African-mouse tribe head-hunter sidekick with the rare “Sabertooth Alley-Catus” all tied up that escape from the zoo. Both the cat and mouse look at the paper with great shame at their ridiculous appearance that everyone has seen now. “After seeing that, I also heard that this ‘wonderful’ dog that has been finding and returning lost cats to their owners after they establish an award… odd how all of them had lost red cats… who all shortly disappeared after their return….”

The cat then felt some hatred from his Doberman host again, fearing the wrath of the diabolical Doberman and his gang of strays as Ragan stop and stood behind the feline in his chair. Then, without warning, the burly doberman picked the scrawny cat up by his red furry-collar, and had him meet with his scowling face, “So tell me, cat…” he start gently before forcing his thick muzzle, which was large enough to chomp the feline in two, right in the cat’s face, “Was the chump trying to horde in my act!?! Trying to take over on my operation? WELL!?!? ANWSER ME!!!”

The cat was then broken by fear and said everything that came to his mind, “He promises us food! But whenever we brought him the stuff, he would slap me about forgetting the gravy. Those houses didn’t had gravy, but I had to keep giving him the food, never giving us a bite to eat. He would just gobble it all down for himself. I tried to run away, but he keeps on finding me! I just wanted some real food, none of that artificial kibble garbage…”

“Good to know.” Said Ragan as he let the cat go and having him fall back into his chair. “I needed to be sure of your loyalty to him was shoddy as his with you before I can hire you when I take over his turf.”

“No. NO! I can’t stand it!” shudder the cat, fearing his future being long with this dog than his short time with him. “I WON’T DO IT! I won’t be bullied and be given nothing but crumbs and slaps!”

“Relax,” said Ragan calmly with a devil’s smile, “You’ll find that I am much more generous and compassionate dog than your former employer. You’ll keep your eats, and in fact, you can enjoy your homes at least a full human-month before you can share the goods with me… oh, and my crew.”

While the cat found this good, he still wasn’t convinced. The mouse then spoke his mind. “You sir, are an evil cur! Why should we, let alone myself, lower ourselves to your diabolical and unjust manner of life?”

The cat thought that Ragan would just eat the mouse right there and then, if not squash it with his paw, but instead, the Doberman gave off a real smile worthy of the devil, “I thought it would take more for you join. ‘Unjust manner of life,’ huh? How about I offer you the kind of justice that the law won’t give you considering that you are… well, animals? About an hour ago, I gotten word that the lucky dog-owner of an all meat deli is being rushed to the animal hospital, apparently bitten off more than he chewed… in fact, they found him still gnawing on a side of cow before they took away. The human docs are currently examining right now before declare the obvious.”

“And…” gulped the cat, “what does that have to do with us?”

“Well, since you two are behind his payments in gravy,” Ragan then pulled out a large, jumbo-economy size can marked “GRAVY” as well as a white funnel on the table, and he sat across his two guests, continuing his evil smile, “I think it is a PERFECT time to pay him back, with added interest.” He then stretched out an open paw, “Do we have deal?”
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Do they accept the deal? Well, see for yourself. [link]

A little birthday gift for who shares it with my bro on the day of love. I got the idea when I watched the classic "Chow Hound" Looney Toon short, in which a bully of dogs gets a cat and mouse to get free eats. I remember this short best for the ending. It was dark and somewhat disturbing in dark humor, worthy of Scarface or the Godfather, (in fact, that scene was cut for some time for television) and I always wondered where they got the gravy, let alone finding that jerk of a dog. And then I saw his OC villian, Ragan, [link] and then I thought: He had something to do with this.

Well, Darkmane, hope you enjoy this, and helps tops off your big day.