Poppy was rushing around in a very determined fashion. As Chief in charge of the most famous and prestigious kitty spy agency in the world, she had to get cracking. Poppy had to corral Rosie and Willie, her two principal spies, and set up her sophisticated command station. Today, like every Saturday when Fred and Gladys Truttyfore left for the opera–Poppy would be running maneuvers. She had only minutes to spare, and she kept nervously checking her watch–hoping that The Truttyfores would not tarry. Poppy was used to moving much faster than humans, so for a moment, she could only feel sorry for Fred and Gladys. She watched with sad eyes as they moved around, slow as molasses, and with very befuddled looks. She had to keep them moving, and they kept stalling–looking at the flowers outside, or stopping to pet kitty heads. On any other day this would be fine, but as the head of the Kitty Intelligence Trust (KIT)–she had to get rolling, and there was no time to waste.
Gladys was running around trying to focus herself, but she was distracted. She needed to make sure she provided well for her little darlings.
“Fred, make sure you leave out a lot of treats,” she said. “You know how ‘secretive’ Poppy can sometimes be–and I suspect she may have guests coming this afternoon. Heaven forbid, she should be embarrassed by not having a nice big buffet.”
Fred let out a heavy sigh. “OK, OK, I just hope there will be no funny business while we are gone.”
Fred and Gladys gathered their belongings, and set off, both singing “Off to the Opera We Go,” at the top of their lungs. Poppy got a glimpse of them leaving, and even though she had enormous regard for them, she had to shake her head. At 60 plus years old, they still had no sense of fashion. Gladys had spent all morning deciding what to wear, and finally chose a frumpy T-shirt, that read “Opera or Bust.” She found its twin, and offered it to the hapless Fred. These two people were very lovable, but they were going to stick out like two sore thumbs in the big city. Poppy made a mental note to try to gently tease them into the 21st century. She would try to fit this into her busy schedule. Surely, it was only in their best interests.
“Oh, well, I have to get moving,” she thought. “I have very serious business to attend to, and I must turn my thoughts to preparing for the day’s events.”
As Director of the Northeast Division of KIT–she was the top spy, after all.
“Rosie, there’s no time to nap now, warned Poppy. “I’m counting on you to be wide-awake, so you can welcome everyone to our training session, and properly introduce the visiting dignitaries.”
Poppy was getting antsy. She spotted Willie, and said, “Shake a wicked paw because we have to set up the podium and the rows of kitty hammocks. And, of course, we still need to lower the ropes out of the windows–and make sure everything is in order.”
Earlier in the day, when Gladys and Fred were busy getting ready, Poppy had gathered her cohorts, Rosie and Willie. They all had to make sure the sophisticated telecommunications were set up for the day’s program. All of the spies would be equipped with “meowie-zeowies,” which were walkie-talkies with speakers, strapped to their paws. They would also be equipped with wire-coiled earpieces, exactly like those used in human spy communication.
Poppy, Rosie and Willie were very hard-working spies, and everything was set and well organized for a successful day in the espionage business.