#41: - Treed Kitten

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Captain and Marc fit into their new jobs perfectly. Their duty was to the people of their island, helping them and keeping them safe. That was what they did. They weren’t particularly interested in anyone toeing any imaginary lines or enforcing any particular behaviors. They didn’t tell the citizens of Flint Island what to do nor did they collect any revenue. They didn’t write tickets. That wasn’t in their job descriptions. Their jobs were to keep their people safe. They were the sheep dogs guarding their flock.

Helping people included lending a hand when need be. As luck would have it over the months and eventually years, they’d changed a few diapers and they’d changed a few car tires.

Captain even delivered a baby once. The circumstances were such that he had no choice. He grew up on the reservation so he wasn’t totally unfamiliar with the concept. Luckily nothing special was required and everything came out alright in the end. That had made him feel good. Holding the wiggling little baby in his hands had made him feel especially good. These were HIS people.

Pursuant to his duty, one day he found himself up in a tree. A small kitten was sitting on the branch above his head and grooming itself. When he had managed to climb even with the kitten. It stared at him as if to say:

“Huh...you took your damn time. I need a ride down.”

Then the kitten jumped....onto Captain’s shoulder and dug in her claws. She held on tight, she was good to go.

Captain looked down to see the little girl who owned the kitten standing beside the tree and crying. She and her mother were looking up toward him. The little girls mother was almost crying too. For a different reason.

“Be careful Officer Parmalee.” The little girl’s mother was beside herself with worry. She thought of him as a cripple. There was no way, her mind, that he should be climbing a tree to fetch her daughter’s kitten. Captain Parmalee had prosthetic legs, that didn’t fit her world view.

She hadn’t wanted him to.

Captain had insisted.

“No need to worry Ma’am.“ Captain called down. He placed one hand on the kitten to hold it in place.

“Jump” an evil thought intruded into his consciousness. He looked down. It wasn’t really so far. He’d jumped out of a lot of buildings in training that were further than that to the ground. Not to mention parachuting. His legs weren’t exactly what they seemed either. He’d made some modifications.

“What? Are you sure?” he thought to himself.

“Trust me.“ The evil thought became positively insidious when it replied “You can make major brownie points!”

“Hmm...I would at that.” Captain thought to himself. " I LIKE Brownies."

“Look out below. Geronimo!” He called down to the two standing beside the tree.

They backed up, away from the tree. He jumped. He did a forward flip and landed gently on his feet like a big cat. He stabbed the dismount perfectly. He didn’t even sway. The hidden pneumatic suspension in his legs did just what he had designed them to do. The little girl was ecstatic. She ran up to Captain and began jumping up and down. Captain bent over and handed her the kitten. The haughty little Kitten transferred from one human to the other as if it were her due.

“She’s OK Mary.” Captain told the young girl. He knew every one in his district personally, most especially the children. He knew ALL their names and quite a bit about them. “She might want a saucer of milk or something. She’s had a rough day. It was scary that high up in the tree. It scared me.”

“You ain’t scared of nothing, Officer Parmalee. You’re teasing me.” the little girl said “Mommie...can I have some milk for my kitty?”

“Certainly dear. Come inside and I’ll get you some.” The mother was looking at Captain in astonishment. He had jumped ten feet. “Thank you Officer Parmalee.”

“Just part of the service Ma’am” Captain tipped his hat and walked away. He ducked under the tree branch that was nine foot high off the ground. He felt like he was ten foot tall. He was that proud. He loved the way the little girl had looked at him. The look the mother had given him hadn’t hurt his feelings either.

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The Next Episode is
-#42: - Bank Heist…
The Previous Episode was
#40: The Enigma
the First episode was
#1 : Prologue

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@everittdmickey
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