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He's Nipped Out For a Bit

Summary:

Considerably safer than cocaine.

Notes:

For the 2019 July Watson's Woes Promptfest prompt #28: The Needle, The Bottle, The Pipe: Everyone has an addiction of one sort or another. Select one to spotlight in today's entry.

Work Text:

When my partner Shock and I were aiding some London street inhabitant that asked for help, the ragged black tomcat could keep busy night as well as day. At times his energy seemed limitless, a sleek black dart through the city fed on the occasional skip-scavenged tidbit. Even when not working, Shock frequently spent all night among his fellow street cats, fighting the other toms and mating the queens. When he finally did rest, like most cats Shock could spend a good part of the day sleeping in his crate in our alley.

But sometimes Shock would disappear for a full day and night.

The first time this happened, without so much as a yowled message from my feline partner (passed along via the alley-cat network), I became very worried. Finally I used my superior nose to track him down. Nearly a mile away from our alley I found Shock lying in a garden in front of one flat. My nose solved the mystery – as did the sight of many other felines sprawled bonelessly among the catnip plants. "Go home, Army dog," Shock had slurred, and I did.

Now if Shock is needed, I know where to find him, and I carry him home in my mouth until he is sober enough to help our newest client with his usual brilliance.