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Walt leaped off the man’s head and landed on the floor next to Butterbean, her legs already moving. “To the elevator! Run!”

Butterbean wheeled around and took off for the elevator, sideswiping the man and making him stumble into the wall.

Walt grabbed the squeaky carrot as Butterbean raced through the elevator door, just barely getting her tail inside before it closed.

Panting, they collapsed in a heap in the corner.

“We did it,” Walt said.

Butterbean gave the carrot a weak squeak.

“Eighth floor,” the elevator woman said.

“Done!” Polo said as the barking and screeching in the hallway stopped abruptly. If she craned her neck, she could see the man staggering around. She wasn’t sure what Butterbean and Walt’s distraction had been, but it looked effective. She turned to Marco. “Pull me back.” She didn’t feel comfortable leaning that far out of the grate. She didn’t think she was small enough to slip through, but she was probably big enough to get stuck. And they needed to get out of there.

Marco grabbed hold of Polo’s tail and pulled her back into the vent, catching her button necklace on the metalwork as he pulled. The red thread snapped, and the sparkly button fell into the room below.

“Nooo! My button!” Polo said, clutching at it as it fell. But it was no use.

Marco and Polo pressed their faces against the grate and scanned the room.“Where did it go?” Polo wailed.

“There!” Marco said, pointing. The button had bounced and was lying in the middle of the living room, next to the sofa.

“We have to get it!” Polo squealed.

Marco waved his arm desperately.“Chad!”

“Chad! The button! Get the button!” Polo shrieked.

Chad was making his way back toward the sink. He shot a look back at the grate, but he didn’t stop. Now that the commotion in the hallway had ended, he didn’t have much time. “I’ve got my butt moving,” Chad said grouchily. “I can’t move any faster. I’m getting rug burn as it is.”

“No, not your butt! The BUTTON,” Marco yelled.

Chad pulled himself onto the sink and shot the rats a nasty look before he disappeared down the drain. He didn’t appreciate the comments. It wasn’t like octopuses really even had butts.

“What do we do?” Polo said, staring at the sparkle on the carpet.

“We’ll get you another one,” Marco said, patting her on the arm. “I’ll chew one off of Madison’s sweater when she comes by this afternoon. You can distract her for me.”

Polo shook her head.“No, it’s not that. We’re not supposed to leave anything behind, remember? What if the man sees it?”

Marco looked at the button uncertainly. It was very sparkly. Someone would definitely notice it.

The Number Two Man lurched back into the apartment from the hallway. His hair was standing on end like things were nesting in it, and the bottoms of his pants legs looked shredded. Whatever Walt and Butterbean had done, it was bad. He closed the door firmly behind him and flopped onto the sofa, his foot inches from the button.

It was too late.

Marco looked at Polo and then gave an awkward laugh.“It’s fine. That tiny thing? They’ll never notice.”

But he could see the sparkle out of the corner of his eye as they turned and hurried away down the vents.

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14

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BUTTERBEAN WAS FOLLOWING WALT BACK into their apartment when Walt stopped short in the doorway. Butterbean slammed into her from behind, stumbling and falling forward onto her face.

“Hey!” Butterbean started to object, but then she caught sight of what Walt was staring at. Her jaw dropped.

The small duffel bag was on the dining room table next to the aquarium. It had been unzipped and was overflowing with coins, primarily because Oscar was inside, squawking happily and flinging gold coins in the air. It was a very undignified display.

“Oscar?” Walt said uncertainly. She’d never seen Oscar so enthusiastic before.

“Look, Walt! Gold! We’re rich! I did it! And I didn’t even hurt my back,” Oscar crowed, flinging another coin into the air. It bonked him on the head as it fell, but he hardly flinched. He giggled in a very un-Oscar-like way.

Walt and Butterbean exchanged a concerned look. Oscar had obviously lost it.

“What’s up, Oscar?” Walt said, carefully edging into the room.

Oscar hunkered deeper into the coin bag.“That rich duck on the Television does this a lot, and I always thought it looked fun!”

“Is it?” Butterbean asked, eyeing the bag. She didn’t think she would be able to fit inside, but it was worth a try. She might be able to if she squeezed.

“Well, yes and no,” Oscar sighed, climbing out of the bag and rearranging his ruffled wing feathers. With his feathers in place, he seemed much more like the old Oscar. “It’s a very unique experience. But it does hurt when the coins hit you.”

Walt jumped onto the table and nosed the bag.“It is a lot of money,” she said. She dipped a paw into the bag and raked her claws through the coins. “It should be more than enough.”