Vanished into the rain

New York City is a giant place, and even a lifer like me can still find somewhere that they’ve never been to. 

A divebar tucked away among more established businesses was a dime a dozen: a place to go to meet people who were hard to meet, although I usually insist they meet me at my office. 

I hoped the food was good, I was craving burger sliders.   

Introductions are in order I suppose. The name’s Snickertooth - Skreet Snickertooth. I’m a private eye. 

...Also a rat if you really must know. 

I had received a phone call from some dame named Ruby, claiming she needed my help and would go into greater detail in person. 

I shoved my way through the glass door into the smoky bar room. A jukebox playing, laughter from a few beasts who had had a bit too much in the corner, silverware clinking on plates... Surprisingly there wasn’t cigarette smoke but the scent of alcohol and food clinging to the air instead. 

I scanned the bar for my contact, I saw a pair of rats were playing on the billiards table, and a female weasel was tossing darts at a dartboard, being cheered on by her other inebriated, mustelid friends. 

I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror behind the bar: a frazzled brown rat in a trenchcoat and hat. 

I scanned the busy room ‘til my eyes rested on the red felt hat I had been told to look for. The owner - a young female rat - waved me down eagerly. 

I noticed she had a male companion with her... that put my hackles up: she hadn’t mentioned that in our conversation. 

He was gray-furred and seemed young. And from the barely-hidden anchor brand on his arm - burned into his furry bicep - under his rolled-up sleeves, I guessed he was a seasoned searat. 

“You didn’t say anything about him,” I said, gesturing to the young male. 

He blinked and tilted his head. “Problem, paley?”

“That remains to be seen,” I replied, cautiously taking a seat on the other side of the booth from the two. She either didn’t trust me or was dishonest herself... or both. I could feel my senses heighten, but kept my hackles from doing so. 

Ruby cleared her throat. “Leland is actually why I contacted you.” 

I looked from one to the other. “Well what’s this all about?” 

Ruby nudged Leland. “Go ahead, he gets good results.” 

Leland cleared his throat. “Er, yeah... I don’t know who I am or where I came from. My memories are… scrambled, or somethin’? I dunno the right word for it: I ain’t so educated.” 

I steepled my fingers. “Perhaps you need a medical professional, not a detective?” 

Leland shifted. “Oh, I’m not comfortable around doctors. You see, I just ended up in the bay with a shipmate of mine and no ship.” 

“How do you know he was a shipmate?”

Leland’s ears folded back. “Well we were both in uniform, and we knew each other's names. We both kinda... ‘woke up’ in the middle of the sea. There was no ship nearby and so we had to swim for shore.” 

I found myself jotting notes “...And who’s your shipmate?”

“Kall Roads, and uh, he’s sort of vanished on me.”

Great: now a vanished sailor added to the mystery. “I see. So after you found your way on shore, what happened?”

Leland twitched his nose. “Well, I’m not proud of it, but the two of us were soaked through to the fur. We found a laundromat and sort of... st—borrowed some clothes. We didn’t have much cash on us at the time, ‘ceptin a few nickels.” he shook his head at the memory. “A dollar for a wash and a nutha’ dollar for a dry! Cripes that’s expensive.”

Now that was an odd statement. “Now how are you so sure that’s expensive?” 

Leland’s whiskers twitched as if he was coming to a realization, “You know I’m not sure myself. There’s certain things I remember, fuzzy memories, like a photo tryin’ to develop...” 

A thought struck me then. “Would you happen to remember your ship?” 

Leland ran a claw along his muzzle. “‘L’ something - it started with an L. I remember it was crammed on that tin can.” 

‘Tin can’?

“Can you recall if this ship had guns?” 

Leland frowned. “Maybe? I... don’t remember.” 

I nodded, taking in all the info. Ruby reminded us she was present. 

“You think you can help him Mr. Snickertooth? It’d be real swell.”

I gave my honest reply. “I’m not entirely sure there’s a case for me here, but I’ll steer you both in the right direction.” I looked at Leland. “Listen sailor, I need your last name. If you and Kall held on to your original clothes there might be some identification markings on them.”   

Leland scowled, “Sure. It’s Leeds. ‘LL.’ As for the clothes we left them at that overpriced laundromat.”   

“Right, so what’s the last thing you remember before you ended up in the drink?” 

Leland’s ears twitched as he scrunched his snoot and stared at the ceiling. 

“A command I think? ‘Commence’? Somethin’ like dat.” 

“Yet you know your name, do you know where you grew up? Parents’? Anything like that?”

“Boston. I think.”

I eyed him. “And what makes you so sure?”

“I saw a li’l picture of the bay in dat overpriced laundromat. Had a little plaque under it sayin ‘Bay of Boston’ - and I got homesick.” 

“OOoookay... So how’d you come to know Ruby here?” I asked.

“We sort of... bumped into each other,” Ruby answered, shifting in her seat. She avoided my eyes when I looked at her, simply staring into her still-full soup bowl.

Leland spoke then. “Yeah. After I lost contact with my shipmate she and I found each other. I was afraid she’d think I was nuts but she’s been helping me get used to New York. Different than I imagined - Even the cars.”  

I felt my tail twitch: again, very particular cues here. 

“Well, listen Leland-” I began when I put my claws into the pocket. My favorite tool was in there, and I felt like I might need it.

I extracted my magnifying glass: a very peculiar heirloom. Sometimes it's a boon to my work, sometimes it's useless. When I looked into the glass, everything was shaded with a green hue. 

...Okay, I'd never seen it do that before. I held it up to the light to make sure my eyes weren’t playing tricks on me.

“Wow, you actually carry one of those?” Ruby asked while I fiddled with it.

Leland stared at the glass and then suddenly recoiled as if he’d been shocked.

“No!” he shouted, causing more than one patron to look our way. The sailor was suddenly quivering in fright. Flattening my ears I tucked the glass away. 

Leland blinked in the light as if he had just woken up. 

“What happened?” I asked. Ruby and I were both staring at him. Leland started to look around, as though he was dazed. 

“I don’t know I just felt…” He laughed nervously. “Nevermind...”

I stood up. “Alright. Well I’ll do some digging into this.” 

After getting their contact info I left the bar and whistled for a taxi. The incident with the magnifying glass still baffled me. As strange a device as my particular glass is, I’d never seen anything like that. Usually it showed me glimpses of the past or future, but never a green glow coming from it.

When I got back to my office the first thing I did was phone a police buddy of mine from the ol’ days. 

“Skreet? A call from you is never good.” I could hear the growl in the dingo’s throat.

“It’s always been doom and gloom with you, Alden.”

“Comes from years of working with you, Snickertooth,” he said. 

“Alright fair enough,” I replied. “Listen I don’t suppose you picked anyone up recently? A searat claiming to be a sailor named ‘Kall,’ maybe?”

A pause. “Actually yeah. He ended up in a brawl with some local toughs, we got the lot of them in the tank. He’s claiming he’s got amnesia, but I think he’s just drunk.” 

I sighed and shut my eyes. “If you don’t mind I’d like a word with him.” 

Alden grunted. “Sure, Skreet: You have till the morning.”   

I hung up, satisfied: I love it when a gut feeling pays off. It was time to see how well his story held up to Leland’s. 

By the time I got to the station, though, I was met by a curious sight. Cops standing on the outside of the building looking cross. A pair of half-ton military trucks in the parking lot. 

“What’s going on, pal?” I asked the closest beatcop, a skunk.  

“Damned if I know - they just showed up.” 

I could see a pair of wolves leading a rat into one of the trucks as a little cadre of various beasts in fatigues piled in after, followed by an otter in full service dress with a lot of stars on his shoulder. 

Curious.

There went my best lead. None of them seemed responsive to questions as the trucks pulled out. 

I made my way into the station as if I still worked there. Alden was there, puzzling. 

“What just happened?” I asked him. “Was that Kall?” 

Alden nodded. “Yeah. They said they were picking him up for disciplinary action.” 

I blinked. “The military typically doesn’t send an admiral - and platoon - to do that.” 

Alden nodded, tight-lipped. “Never seen anything like it.” 

I grabbed a taxi back and an old bear with a smoking problem drove me to my office that doubled as my apartment. Now I was really curious, and Leland might be in some kind of danger, or maybe there was something else going on that I didn’t know about. 

I was struck with an odd paranoid feeling as I looked out through my blinds. Down below the street on the corner barely visible I saw a rat in black clothing. Just staring up at my window. 

Instantly I slipped my other tool - a revolver - into my coat and went down to have a friendly chat with him. Of course, by the time I got down there... 

...Vanished into the rainy night. 

I cursed and went back up the old cement stairs to my office. I needed a drink, and some sleep. The following morning I called Ruby and Leland.

“Have you recalled anything else Leland? Perhaps angering someone at the top of the chain?” 

“Nah, it’s still all jumbled.”

“Alright, well don’t venture out. Kall got grabbed from jail by some military types.”

Silence on the other end. “Cripes, I guess we’re navy then and I’m awol.”

“Not with the amount of manpower I saw.” I replied. “Stay put, we'll talk more in person.” 

I met the two young rats in a small apartment. Again Leland didn’t have much else coming back to the surface. That’s when I had an idea.

“Might take some time but I can see if there’s any military records regarding you and your friend. Meantime I think it best you stay low: I don’t like this.” I stroked my muzzle. “You know we could try the glass again. I know it scared you but it seemed to jar something.” 

Leland’s tail went straight up. “I’d rather not. At least for now.”

I nodded and stepped outside, that’s when I saw him: The same rat in black I had seen from my office, lurking in the shadows of an alleyway outside the apartment complex: 

That tore it. 

I strode towards him, my hand going to my pocket for my weapon. I expected him to bolt, but he just stood there. 

“Alright buster, start talking before I get rough!” I said, baring my teeth. 

The rat tipped his fedora. “Nice to meet you in person. Mr. Snickertooth.”

“Start talkin’! You’re not earning yourself any points wearing dark clothes and skulking in darkness.” 

An amused flash of his teeth. “Bit hypocritical of you, don’t you think?”

Touche. 

I sighed. “Who are you?” 

“Things are in motion. Things that should have been left alone. Your seafaring friends got caught in something beyond their comprehension, and now they are far from shore - in a dark storm, brewing.” 

I crossed my arms, “You’re a drama major aren’t you?” 

His tail twitched, as he reached into his coat. 

“Uh-uh,” I warned him. 

“I’m on your side, detective,” he said. I had my fingers on my trigger as he slowly brought out a key. 

“1273 Dock-Street. You should find something of interest there.”

I stepped forward cautiously and quickly grabbed the key out of his claws. “I need a name for you,” I said as I stepped away. 

“Mr. Fixit.” 

With a tip of his hat he strode away, and I noticed there were other similarly adorned beasts in the alleyway that I hadn’t noticed until then. That put my hackles up. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, a slightly green fogbank blew past me and into the street, covering the whole scene in an impenetrable fog. 

I saw a blue flash, and when the screen of mist disappeared, so had they.

Naturally my curiosity was piqued. I found my way to Dock Street: nothing but dilapidated warehouses and rusting ship hulls. The address didn’t seem too promising - another run down warehouse facing the bay. My feet echoed in the empty shell of a building as pigeons flapped and cooed overhead. 

In what was once an office, I found a single piece of furniture: an old... locked... file cabinet. 

I looked around before inserting the key and turned, pulling the whole damn thing forward, revealing a stairwell.

“I’ll be damned,” I muttered staring down into that abyss.

Grabbing my light, I descended down into the dusty darkness. There I saw a sprawling interior: Bare patches where machinery and equipment had once stood along the walls and floors. Smirking, I held up my magnifying glass. 

There I could see it, scientists, armed guards, officers. Strange equipment crackling with electricity. I could not hear but I could imagine the hustle and bustle. I moved along the abandoned lab until I came to a table with a blueprint of a destroyer - A ‘Tin-can,’ as they were called- showing strange devices being fitted to the ship and... a memo.

...Official orders designating the test ship, the destroyer Elridge. 

I had heard that name. A legend or hoax, or so I thought. A ship that either turned invisible or vanished, whose crew were not the same afterwards: some missing, some in unspeakable conditions.

I had to talk to Leland. 

By the time I reached the apartment, day had become night. I had made a stop at a hobby store prior. Just to see if I could jog something loose. I checked around the street before I headed for the tiny apartment. After the cordial greetings from my clients, I pulled the box from my shopping bag.

“Leland, does this look familiar?” 

It was the model of a destroyer. The same class as in the experiment. 

Leland’s tail twitched as he took the model, “Yeah. I can still hear the engines thrumming beneath me. Treat her like a lady and she’ll bring you home.”

Ruby looked at him wistfully. 

“Almost… all the time.” a twitch of his whiskers, something at the edge of his memory. 

“Do you recall the ship’s name?” I asked.

“El- Elridge,” he shuddered. 

I put a claw on the magnifying glass, “I know it's frightening, but perhaps you should look through the glass again.”

The glow was upon the glass again as I held it up. Leland gazed through it, but I could not see what he saw, as his eyes grew wide. 

“I… oh no… I remember! We were where no ship belonged, a space between spaces. Nothing was right… those things! Kall and I, we got away somehow...”

I put the glass away. “Your amnesia was likely a defense mechanism.” 

Leland sat back on the couch and shuddered, Ruby trying her best to comfort him. 

“I don’t belong here,” Leland muttered.

A knock at the door, and from the shocked expressions I knew neither of them were expecting it. I put a hand in my coat and motioned the two into the kitchen as I crossed to the door and looked through the peephole. I scowled at who was behind it and flung the door open.

“Fixit,” I growled.

“You figured it out I presume?” he replied.

“I did.”

“I’m the only one that can help him in his… unique situation.” 

I scowled. “Yeah? Like what happened to Kall?” 

Fixit shook his head, “No. That admiral is a renegade trying to revive an experiment far too dangerous to repeat. My associates are busy undermining that operation, and rescuing Kall.” 

“Why don’t you take a hike?” I barked.

Fixit tilted his head, “Perhaps you should ask him. It is his life after all.” 

I turned to see Leland. “You’re not buying this, are you?” 

Leland sighed, “After what I’ve seen. I think I can afford a bit of faith. I’ll go with him.” 

Fixit nodded. “It’s the right decision Leland. We’ve… had experience in this sort of thing.”

He gestured Leland out of the room. “We have a car waiting - we’d best hurry.” 

Leland gave Ruby a final embrace before stepping out into the hall. 

I eyed Fixit. “I’m going to be looking into you.” 

Fixit smiled, “I’m sure. But I don’t exist. I do believe we’ll see each other again though. Rest assured this is the right course of action.”   

With a final hat tip he left down the hall with Leland. I swallowed, unsure of anything. 

I hate that feeling.

I looked out down the street and saw Leland and Fixit enter a jet black sedan. 

“Leland... where are you sailing to now, bud?” I whispered.