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The pair left the school quickly and ran back to the grocery store. They paused near the entrance, making sure that they wouldn’t be seen. The lights, inside and out, were kept on all night regardless of human presence. They couldn’t risk a drive by spectator.
Ash peeked out at the parking lot. Empty. He listened. Nothing. “Come on,” Ash said, then after another lock picking session, ran to the drain and got back in the sewer quickly. The feeling of the warm air invited them back home.
At the bottom, Agnes was about to run back to her quarters when Ash stopped her. “Wait a second Agnes.”
“Yeah?” Agnes asked.
“Why did you?...” Ash asked, not sure how to finish the question and let it hang.
“Why did I kiss you?” Agnes asked.
“Yeah.” Ash asked. “I thought you liked Kristopherson.”
“I do.” Agnes said, “you’ve just done some much for him, I can’t thank you enough. And it’s not just for him, it’s for all of us. If we can pull this off, we’ll all be safe and happy again; maybe, not even poor anymore.”
Ash nodded. “Thanks.”
Agnes smiled. “Thank you.” She turned away and with a quick “goodnight”, vanished off into the sewer complex.
Ash entered his room quietly, Kristopherson turning over. “Where you been?”
“Oh, just exploring.” Ash said. He turned over to face Kristopherson and said “I think I have a way of helping all of us.”
“what?” Kristopherson asked.
“I read that human interest story where humans were domesticating foxes, and I figured, if we could go through the domestication process, we could live with humans and be safe.”
Kristopherson didn’t respond for a second, then said “I think that’s crazy,” Kristopherson laid down, “but it’s better I guess than what we’ve got here.”
“Exactly.” Ash said. “Agnes and I visited the-”
“Wait,” Kristopherson said quickly, sitting back up, “you dragged Agnes into this?! Ash, what if she got hurt-?”
“Shh!” Ash said, “keep your voice down.” Mr. Fox in the next room grunted. The echo carried, but didn’t wake anyone.
“She was fine. Actually,” Ash said, looking amazed, “she did way better than I expected. She’s a capable girl.”
Kristopherson calmed himself in hearing the compliment. “So what did you find?” he asked.
“It was better than anything we could have hoped for.” Ash said. “I’m, just not sure what to do now. How could we get ourselves domesticated?”
“Maybe just turn ourselves in or something?” Kristopherson asked as he laid back down.
Ash’s eyes narrowed. “Maybe, but my guess is the farmers will still be looking for us. If anyone knows where we are up top, word will get to those three.”
Then an idea hit him. “We make peace with the farmers.”
Kristopherson sat up again. “What?!”
Ash stood up, “think about it,” he paced, “ever since we stole from these guys, they’ve been hunting us ever since. As soon as they learn about us stealing from the grocery store, which won’t take long, it’ll be a war all over again. It’s with the farmers that we start,” Ash said, pounding a balled up fist into the other hand.
“How are we going to do that?” Kristopherson asked.
Ash thought, then said “You suggested a perfect strategy. I turn myself in. Peacefully.”