"The blues are mushed up into three different ways
One said go the other two said stay"

"Leaving Trunk" by Taj Mahal

Kathy had never been good at keeping secrets. Whenever she had one, it nipped at her skin like a flea until she had no choice but to itch it.

Kathy couldn't remember a time when she'd waited until someone's birthday to give them their gift, or a Christmas when she hadn't spoiled a surprise by accident.

This was why she immediately wondered why Syl had asked her to keep one. Whatever the reason was, Kathy swore to herself that she'd do her best and not tell Bash or Smiley about their plan to spy on the Mad Teddy's. The only problem was that she was already keeping a secret of her own.

She'd been going down to the fabric store twice a week to see Jim. They'd only met four times so far, but Kathy knew a kindred spirit when she met one.

Kathy believed that the stars in the sky represented each person on Earth. Like the stars, everyone had a constellation that they were part of; a network of people, all connected to create a beautiful image. There would always be stars surrounding a person, but finding someone who fit into their constellation was special.

Kathy believed that The Crumbs were her constellation...and Jim, possibly, was part of it too.

She didn't exactly know why she didn't tell The Crumbs about Jim, but she suspected it had something to do with not wanting to offend anyone. Would The Crumbs like Jim? Would they feel like she was being unfaithful to their group?

Deep down, she knew this wouldn't be the case, but there was a constant fear of being rejected lurking in the back of her mind, even by the people she trusted without a second thought.

That was why her secret with Syl was important to her. Syl, who rarely trusted anyone, had chosen her, which lead to another conundrum in Kathy's life.

She was always trying to prove herself to her friends. Again, she had no reason to feel like she had to do this, but the problem remained. She'd only been a part of the Crumbs for two years, which was a significant amount of time as far as a job was concerned, but it was precious little when it came to being part of a family.

Bash and Smiley had grown up together, of course, so their closeness was only natural.

And Syl was a mysterious case. Although she was distant, there seemed to be a unique bond between her and Bash. Maybe it was opposites attracting or perhaps it was because they were the two oldest of the group, but they fit together like a puzzle Kathy could never quite settle into herself.

It wasn't that Kathy was jealous (in fact, she had a sketch of Syl's wedding dress and Bash's suit safely tucked away under her mattress for future use). Perhaps she just didn't quite know who she was yet. And she wanted nothing more than to make good on her promise.

All of this was niggling at the back of her mind as she and Syl planned their grand spy mission, which went completely against Bash's request.

It was the next Sunday after they'd first mentioned it; Bash was fixing a few wires in the circuit board while Smiley tinkered with a melody on the piano.

It was a week before their next paycheck, so it wasn't unusual for the Crumbs to take off to run an errand when they weren't on radio duty.

Syl and Kathy pretended like nothing–absolutely nothing–was amiss.

Afternoon crept close and Kathy found it increasingly difficult to avoid suspicion.

She tried to distract herself by practicing rhythm patterns on her drum buckets, but as Syl silently observed her from her chair, the uncomfortableness was growing more obvious by the minute.

Finally, Syl said, ever so casually, "Bash, did you happen to pick up those bass strings I asked for the other day?"

Bash looked up from his work. "You never asked for strings."

Syl blinked. "Yes, I did. The other day in-between All You Need Is Love and I Can See for Miles. I was sitting at the circuit board right where you are now."

She's good, Kathy thought.

Bash rubbed the back of his neck. "I guess I just don't remember. Sorry, Syl."

Syl, of course, had not asked for new strings. "I was going to go on Tuesday, but perhaps I can just go today before the week begins."

"I need new, uh, velvet," Kathy added clumsily.

Smiley squinted an eye at her. "You've been to the store three times in the past two weeks, how could you possibly need more material?"

"I'm not seeing that boy," Kathy defended.

"Never said you were," he retorted.

"Let's not argue," Syl suggested. "Kathy and I will just go into town today and be back in two pops."

There was a heart-stopping moment of silence.

"What are you waiting for, then?" Smiley asked. "You need our permission to go or something?"

"You two go on. Smiles and I will keep the boat afloat," Bash added.

Syl and Kathy had to resist making eye contact with each other. Had they really pulled it off that easily?

They made a point to act like they weren't in a hurry, so they didn't leave for another hour.

Once they were finally on the dinghy, rowing toward the dock, they gave a sigh of relief.

"No questions asked," Kathy mused. "We must be excellent actresses. Did you bring the stuff?"

Syl opened her bag to reveal their disguises. "I did. As well as the rope, the lockpick, and the umbrella."

"Where did you get a lockpick?"

"Let's maybe keep the questions at a minimal."

Kathy shrugged and looked toward London's shorelines. "Teddy's, here we come."

The dinghy bumped against the wharf's dock and Syl jumped out to tie it up.

She and Kathy sauntered down Canary Wharf and as soon as they rounded the corner, out of sight from the boat, they picked up their pace.

"Here." Syl tugged Kathy into an alleyway and tossed her the bag.

Syl pulled on a long dress over her shorts and shirt, complete with a wide brimmed hat and sunglasses.

"I am certainly not in favor of this," Kathy complained. Her disguise consisted of a sports jacket and a long wig that was matted in two places.

As much as she wanted to prove herself to Syl, she wasn't sure that wearing this debacle was worth it.

"Why do I have to be the man?" she asked.

"Because this dress–" Syl gestured to herself– "would be too short on you. Besides...it smells like beans. And feet."

"Where did you get this stuff anyway?" Kathy fumbled with the buttons on her jacket and tried to tamp down the wig before putting on her fedora.

"There was...a costume box in the basement of the boat," Syl said.

"The boat doesn't have a basement."

"Fine, so I found it in the dumpster behind the fabric shop the other day. What's so bad?"

"That we have to wear rubbish?" Kathy sniffed her coat and almost gagged. "This is an absolute crime against fashion, Sylvette."

"Sorry."

It was roughly a two-mile walk to Burrells Wharf, so by the time they got there, they were both sweaty and questioning the sanity of their mission.

They came to the wharf, which looked more like a large canal surrounded by flat buildings. The air even smelled of rich people–like faint perfume and chemicals. It was quite unlike the scent of fish on Canary Wharf.

"Maybe we should just go back to Wolgemoth," Kathy said warily. "I look like a cartoon character and you look like...well, I won't say what you look like, but if people start offering you money, don't take it."

Syl absently brushed a dead bug off of her dress. She pointed in the direction of the wharf. "On that water sits a boat. And that boat determines the rise or fall of our beloved station. If we don't find out what the Mad Teddy's are up to, then we allow our enemy to overtake us without even knowing they've been behind us the whole time."

Kathy took in a breath before shaking her head. "I can't believe I'm agreeing to this."

"That's a brave lass. Now, we stroll down the dock casually at first like a couple out for a turn about the town."

Arm-in-arm they made their way over to the marina. It wasn't filled with fishing boats and cargo ships like Canary Wharf was, but with yachts and schooners made of mahogany. They all had funny names like, Miss Sunshine and Joyous Bucket and Yacht Sea.

The dock that looped around the wharf was lined with little shops and cafes, so Kathy and Syl fit right in with the other couples roaming around.

"There it is," Syl hissed, nudging Kathy when she spotted the Mad Teddy's boat.

"Great Nelly's Noggin," Kathy gasped.

There was no mistaking which one belonged to their rivals.

A large yacht sat in-between two smaller vessels. It's hull was made out of shiny mahogany and a navy blue banner laced around the edge with the words "Mad Teddy Radio" written in gold along it.

From their vantage point, Kathy and Syl couldn't see anything. It didn't even look like there was anyone on board.

"We have to get closer," Kathy stated.

"Let's just walk around for a while. Maybe they'll come out," Syl said.

They continued their saunter about the wharf, receiving many skeptical glances from passersby. They tried to amuse themselves by looking into shop windows, but even Kathy seemed distracted.

Finally, they went back over to the yacht.

"Nothing." Syl huffed.

Kathy took in a breath. If they wanted this to work, they'd have to go completely insane. Even though Kathy erred on the side of caution, she ventured to say, "Let's go on deck."

Syl flinched away from her friend, her mouth open slightly in surprise. "Are you mad?"

Kathy shrugged a shoulder. "There hasn't been anyone on deck in an hour. What's the harm?"

Syl traced her finger along her bottom lip, her brow bent low. "We'll have to be very sneaky."

"Sneaky indeed."

Syl glanced around them to make sure nobody was looking too closely before she and Kathy dashed down to the dock.

As they scrambled to climb aboard from the back of the boat, where a metal ladder protruded from the water, Syl muttered, "They can't even call themselves a pirate radio if they're allowed to be here."

Secretly, Kathy thought it must be nice not to have to row a dinghy across the ocean every time she needed some space.

As quietly as church mice, Syl and Kathy snuck around the boat, ducking beneath windows and holding their breath to hear if anyone was coming.

They couldn't find anything whatsoever until they heard voices coming from the wheelhouse above them.

"They're up there," Kathy astutely pointed out.

"We must get a look–oh! See that rigging?" Syl pointed up at a sturdy-looking rig hovering over the yacht.

Kathy started to shake her head, but Syl was already pulling her along. The brevity she'd felt to come aboard vanished like a morning mist, but it was too late.

Syl was nimble in her ascent up the crane-like contraption. Kathy was not so agile.

This was too much. Kathy knew she had made an excruciating mistake.

"I'm going to chuck," Kathy complained as she sat on the swaying bar that extended a good twelve feet above the yacht

Syl scooted herself all the way to the end with Kathy carefully folliwng behind.

The yacht's wheelhouse didn't have a roof, so they could see directly into a large room made entirely of wood.

There were no tables and no chairs, but a plethora of colorful pillows strewn about the floor of which eight boys were lounging on.

"Syl, I don't like it up here," Kathy hissed.

Syl ignored her as the boys' conversation floated up from below.

"...over five million listeners," one boy, who had a mop of curly black hair, was saying.

Another boy whistled. "You think we'll get that much if we're broadcasted to Manc?"

"I don't see why not."

"Syl," Kathy whispered. Her stomach was clenched so tightly that she was beginning to see spots.

Syl waved her hand. "We'll go down in a minute, just wait."

Kathy pressed her lips together and tried to focus as two new boys came into view. They were both wearing too-big jackets and old shoes that had been dry-rotted from disuse. None of the other boys seemed to know them.

"...new members..." she heard the dark-haired boy say.

The newcomers looked oddly familiar, but Kathy's head was spinning to quickly for her to place them.

"Is that...Bash?" Syl whispered out loud, just as Kathy gave an ear-splitting scream.

Syl turned just in time to see Kathy topple off of the rigging, but not before she made a desperate attempt to catch herself and grabbed onto Syl's ankle.

In a second that seemed to last an eternity, Syl and Kathy fell down into the Mad Teddy's yacht.

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Hey everyone! Sorry for the long chapter, lol! I hope you've had a good week so far! I had to hand-deliver baby goats on a random friend's farm, so...I guess my week was good? XD

~What do you think of Kathy?

~What do you think will happen with the Mad Teddy's? <.<

~General thoughts on the chapter?

Thanks so much for reading! Don't forget to comment, vote, and share!