Eleven squirrels huddled in the dubious shelter of a small bush, while the 
rain drizzled down around them. Chit peered into the darkness...

"Where is it? I don't see it."

"Its over by that tree..."

"The Maple?"

"No, the oak, but not that one, the second one on the left way over there, 
 with the little branch ten feet up. It's right near the base." Charlie tried
to point the direction with his tail, but it was hopeless.

"Let's get closer, but be quiet," Chit whispered, creeping along through the 
tall grass. The others chittered a bit, and glanced longingly at the tree 
cover overhead, but followed.

Close up, it was obvious -- grass and leaves were scattered over it in an
attempt at concealment, but most had been washed or blown away, and it didn't
look like they'd bothered to repair it.

"There it is," Charlie whispered. Zander crept up next to Chit.

"I crawled down it aways..."

"What!"

Zander cringed, but continued. "Just a little bit... I checked for cameras 
and relays and tripwires first, but it's just a stupid dirt tunnel. I'm sure
it connects to the warren though, I could smell bunnies."

Chit sighed. "I'll check where it goes... we may be in luck. You guys watch
for bunnies."

"I'll come with you!" Zander chittered.

Chit shook his head. "You're not ready. Back in a sec." He scurried over to
the hole. A gentle current of warm air rose out of it. With a brief quiver
of disgust at the mud, and a quick check for surveilance devices, he entered
the tunnel.

There was plenty of room for a squirrel in the tunnel, it looked like some 
bunny had dug it by paw. Zaphod was constantly fretting about scanners and 
bunnies intercepting their transmissions and cuton detectors (as if *bunnies* 
would use cuton detectors), but if the rest of the warren was this low t--

"Whooooooo --" Chit screeched as he slid headfirst down the muddy slope. 
"Oomph!" He landed on a slightly damp slab of cement. A dribble of mud ran 
out the hole he'd come down and several others, and into a grating in the 
center of the slab. The rest of the room was plain dirt, but was dominated 
by a miniature electric heater. The power cord ran out of the room through 
a twisty passageway, presumably towards the rest of the bunny warren.

Chit panted and staggered dizzily towards the passage -- the heat was 
oppresive and damp, and the orange glow from the heater blinded him if 
he looked in its direction. No wonder this entrance wasn't guarded! He made
a last dash for the corridor and collapsed in the sudden coolness, chittering
with relief. After a few seconds he started picking bits of baked mud from
his fur as he thought of what to do.

This would *not* be a good place to set off the bomb. It relied on natural 
air currents to carry the virus to the target, and the natural air currents
here were... actually, there was nothing natural about them, but they'd still
protect the bunnies. Maybe if he shoved it out into a corridor? He'd only
made it three more steps down the passage when he saw why *that* wouldn't
work -- a metal grating set in cement blocked the end of the passage. 
A closer inspection revealed hinges and latches... and solenoids. And locks.
And no doubt several other nasty surprises.

"Whoaaaaaaa -- oomph!" came a cry from behind him. Chit ran back, to find 
Zaphod flailing about... next to the bomb. He dashed in and pulled the 
squirrel out of the room before he fried.

"Sorry," Zaphod panted, "Got sick'a waiting. You aren't mad, are you? I
brought the bomb to save a trip. [chitter]"

"For ten points," Chit said softly, "Tell me why we can't set off the bomb
here." Zaphod sniffed the air, then glanced at heater and chittered. Chit
nodded. "Now tell me how we get ourselves back up that tunnel, let alone the
bomb."

"So that's it?" Zaphod chittered, "We just give up and go home? What if we
collapsed all the vents... then the heat would expand the air and blow it
out to the rest of the warren."

"In that heat?" Suddenly, the soft hum of the heater shut off, and the light
vanished. Not only the light from the heater, but the white glow from the
warren corridor as well. The only sounds were faint bunny cries of alarm...

Zander grinned. Actually, he chattered happily, but the sentiment was there.
"What heat? I'll get the bomb, you start on the tunnels."

"Go ahead," Chit said, "First I'll make sure it doesn't come back on." It
didn't take too long to chew through the wires -- by the time Zander managed
to find the bomb and drag it back he was done. 

Zander flipped open a panel and pushed a glowing red button. "It should go
off in a few min-- " 

<*POOF*>

Chit and Zander coughed and choked as a thick mist filled the air. "Gak!"
Chit screeched, "Come on! Lets.. oh, we'd better fill up the tunnels first.
You go left, I'll go right." He staggered along the wall through the clouds 
of virus, trying to convince himself that it really really was harmless to 
squirrels... and scrabbled frantically at the first opening he felt until
it collapsed in a shower of dirt and mud. He collapsed three more before
running into Zander from the other direction.

"I don't suppose you left one open," Chit asked, "Come on [cough], we'll 
have to dig our way out."

Ten minutes later, their exit was finally plugged with wet grass and clumps
of leaves torn down from the trees. Chit looked around, and saw lights still
on in the buildings, and the streetlamps shining as brightly as ever. What
the hell? Had the bunnies had their own *personal* blackout?

"Not that I'm complaining, mind," he muttered under his breath. "Come on,
guys, [cough] let's get back before we're missed."

--
Chit                            ([sniffle])