Warm hazy sunlight poured through the open doors of the workshop, spilling across the bodywork of an old Morris Minor. From among the heaps of tools and spare parts a radio played. Katka grinned as she worked, checking over the valves of the ancient car, and all the while her tail flicked in time to the music.
From outside the workshop the sound of someone approaching across the gravel drive was masked by the radio, allowing Mr O'reilly to make it all the way to the large double doors unnoticed. He too grinned, a slow and warm smile as he watched the girl leaning over the exposed motor. After a moment or two of watching he stepped into the workshop and spoke over the sound of the music "Hey there, girl."
Katka glanced up from her work and her grin widened. She walked over to were the radio nestled amongst a pile of old rags and turned it down, her hips swinging in time to the beat. With a sigh she turned back to the old wolf, wiping her hands clean "You dirty old rascal, you know how I feel about you watching me while I work."
With an equal grin O'reilly leaned against his car, slapping the metal affectionately as he said "Well I was talking to the car, actually-"
It was then that it happened. A deep swooping sensation and an instant moment of blackness, quickly replaced with the actual rushing of air accompanied with falling. Katka screamed, the sudden image of brick walls and an alleyway rushing up to meet her. With a rib-crushing jolt and a stab of pain up her side she stopped, hanging in mid-air. Below her she saw the figure of Mr O'reilly, the wolf spreadeagled across the alley floor in a pool of slick blood.
Breath fast and sharp she glanced up, catching sight of where her jacket had caught on a rusting piece of pipework, suspending her above the drop below. With a final tearing sound the jacket gave way and she fell the final drop, hitting the ground into instant unconsciousness...
Nestor suddenly stood straight, his ears flicking.
It sounded like something crashed in the alley... He rushed toward the door of the dojo and pried it open. "You guys take care of him," he said. "I've gotta go check something out!"
Reaching the alleyway, he saw two stagnant figures, once again in odd clothes. "Sweet Christmas, where are they all coming from?" he said, investigating the scene. The first one, a wolf dressed in clothes that seemed only slightly more advanced than this era, seemed to be dead... but he probably wasn't. The second one, a female cat, was unconsious and had a large tear in her jacket. Looking up, Nestor saw the missing piece of the cat's jacket hanging from a jagged piece of pipe.
That's probably why she's showing more signs of life... "HEY!"
Without warning, Nestor felt something hard hit him hard in the shoulder. Rolling with the blow, he turned to see a policeman rushing at him.
Great, he thought, quickly pulling out his I.D. "Private Detective! Stand down!"
Thankfully, the man was a smart policeman... something rare in Nestor's own time... and understood the meaning. "Sorry, kid," he said. "Can't be too careful... but why..."
"I'm a theme detective," the cat said.
"Oh. O.K." The cop extended a hand. "Name's Wilson. You got a name, or should I just call you Dick?"
Nestor took the man's hand and shook it. "Nestor. It... came with the job."
"I see." The cop looked at the two downed people. "So... what's the story here?"
"Oh, people keep randomly appearing in this alley dressed in strange clothes," he said. "I'm working on finding out why. There was another guy earlier, actually... some other folks are helping to take care of him, so I suppose, I'd better get these two there as well..." He looked up at the cop. "Care to lend a hand?"
Wilson nodded. "Sure, kid," he said, picking up the wolf. "Lead the way."
Moving fairly quickly, Nestor scooped up the cat and put her in a fireman's carry, then slowly headed towards the dojo, Wilson close behind him.