Invitation

As Caitlyn went out of his office, Mallory breathed a small sigh of relief.

Eddie's state of mind wasn't the only thing he was thinking of after his visit to Illemore Mental. The man that he met in the interview, the so-called Spencer, also piqued his curiosity.

And it wasn't just because of similarities in appearance. There was also the matter with the cats.

The one with the thick fur came up to him then and tried to talk to him. As far as he knew, cats weren't able to talk to people, and they knew it as well. So why did this one attempt to communicate with him?

He also noticed that aside from himself, the felines gathered around the young man who said that he was a college student. It was possible that this person knew how to speak with cats. He even thought that maybe this Spencer could be someone like him.

He didn't hold out much hope on the latter possibility, however.

But nonetheless, the desire to speak with him was there, and the timing was right.

He just hoped it wouldn't be too obvious.

----------

Ryne's phone rang in the middle of their patrol.

"Hello?" he answered. The other cats with him have noticed that he stopped walking, so they paused waiting for him.

"Hello. It's Caitlyn, from Spiritbooks? Remember me?"

"Oh yes, hi! How is the matter with the appointment going?"

There was a pause before the office worker could continue what she was going to say. "Mr. Miller agreed to it."

A look of surprise followed by a smile appeared on Ryne's face. "That's great!"

Then he noticed that Caitlyn didn't sound as ecstatic. "But why do you sound a bit… hush-hush?" he asked.

"Well… I don't know, it's a little too… How should I say it? Favorable?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"What I mean is that it sounded too good to be… good. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

Ryne paused, not quite knowing what the lady meant.

Caitlyn took it as a no.

"The thing is, Mr. Miller sounded as if he was the one who wanted to talk to you instead of the other way around."

"You mean…"

"Yes. He might be onto you."

Ryne didn't speak again for a while, taking in the implications of what the person on the other side just said. But he soon thought that he may very well take a chance on it. "I see… I'll still push through with it. When is he available?"

"Tomorrow morning at 10. Would you be available then?"

"Yes. Thank you for your help."

"There's really no need for that. You're helping me too."

"Is there anything else that I need to know?"

"Yes. He said that you should bring your cats. Also, he specified something about bringing the fluffy cat. I've told the guards about it, so you should be able to enter the building with them. If anyone else tries to stop you, you can say that Mr. Miller is the one who asked for it. I would have to ask though, aren't they strays?"

"Yes, they are. He might be thinking that they're my pets."

"Hmm, he did call them your pets."

In Ryne's mind, he thought that Caitlyn might be right about Mallory being onto him. The man was practically telling him that he knew that the cats were connected to him.

The question now was, would he become an ally or an enemy? There was only one way he could find out, and that was through meeting him.

"I agree to his request. I'll be there at the appointed time."

"All right… Just be careful, okay?"

"I will. Thank you, Ms. Caitlyn."

The call ended, and Ryne put the phone in his pocket.

"What was that all about?" asked Nini.

"It was Ms. Caitlyn. Mallory has agreed to meet with us."

"Us…? You mean you and…?"

"He is asking me to bring you all with me. Including you, Fonmi, and Prauza, who he seems to want in particular."

"Well, that is flattering," said Prauza in response, equal parts surprised and pleased.

"I suppose… We'll be going there tomorrow morning, and we would have to be careful."

----------

The next day, Ryne arrived at the Spiritbooks building with the cats in tow. He was glad that they arrived there safely, even though he knew that, if his assumptions were correct, it was less likely for them to be attacked during the daytime. He was also thankful for the clear directions given to him by Caitlyn.

He took a good look at the exterior of the building. His expectations were that it would be like one of those skyscraper-type ones that started to become popular in the city, but it was actually a bit more modest, with only three floors. It was, however, more on the wider side, as it had its presses in house.

Ryne went up to the front door, and the guard let him in.

"I am Spencer Smith, appointed to see Mr. Miller at 10 AM."

"Oh, yes, I knew as soon as I saw you, from the note that you would come with cats." the guard said as he looked at Ryne's three feline companions.

The cat-human followed his gaze and said, "Yes. I suppose you didn't expect this many?"

"You got me, sir. Please, head to the top floor, and look for Ms. Wilson. She will lead you to Mr. Miller."

"I understand. Thank you."

Ryne and the others went up the stairs towards the third floor. Along the way, he noticed that there were no elevators, but it was all right for him, as he didn't get into that many places with them to actually miss them. However, it did have him running into quite a few people, considering everyone had to use the stairs.

When they reached the top, it didn't take them long before they reached Caitlyn's desk.

"Good morning, Ms. Caitlyn," said Ryne.

"Oh, Spencer, you're here," answered the assistant. She then looked at the cats and said, "And these are… Nini and Fonmi, am I correct?"

"Yes. And this fluffy one is Prauza."

"I see… He really is fluffy, just like what Mr. Miller said." Caitlyn started stroking the former pet, who purred in pleasure. Then the office worker caught herself and stopped what she was doing.

"I apologize. I'll let Mr. Miller know that you're here."

She stood up and knocked on the door that was right behind her. She then opened it and peeked inside.

"Mr. Miller, Mr. Smith is here to see you now."

"Thank you, Caitlyn. Also, could you make us some tea, please?"

"Of course, sir."

The assistant nodded a bit, then pulled her head out of the room. She then motioned for Ryne and the others to enter and closed the door after them. Following that, she went to the lounge to make some catmint tea.

"It's nice to see you again, Mr. Smith," said Mallory. "Please, sit."