Occams Razor

:: The piece of paper Leo holds is mouse-sized - that is to say, about the dimensions of a postage stamp.
There is a very, very small drawing on it and itty, bitty, tiny, whiny writing that may or may not explain what the drawing is. Without a magnifying glass though it sort of looks like chicken scratch. Or mouse scratch.
No secret of the universe here. Unless, that is, Leo has a magnifying glass or telescopic vision?

And.... more time passes ::

"Huh. I thought the talking rats were bigger." She stared after the departing mice, then looked over Leo's shoulder to try and see what the paper said. "And I was told they had better handwriting."

After a moment, Kelsey reached into her bag, taking out her magnifying glass and snapping it open. She mostly carried the thing on her because she felt like an investigator was supposed to have one, and she was pleased to finally find a use for lugging it around all the time. She held the glass over the tiny scrap of paper, so that Leo could better read what it said.

Sally's face lights up at the sight of the magnifying glass, as if to say Holy Shit, look at Sher-lock Holmes, right there! in glee. He furrows his brow, as if to correct his own inner monologue, Make that Doctor golldarn Watson!, and then goes back to elated concentration.

"All right, whadda we got?"

Alice grew increasingly twitchy. As they stopped to encounter mice and pieces of paper, Alice twitched even further, running her hands through her hair and shaking her head. She began to pace. Back and forth. Back and forth. Back and forth. A touch of a growl under her breath. Finally, after a few seconds, she shook her head and looked back.

"Can we walk and read at the same time?" she snapped.

:: Under Kelsey's magnifying glass a picture comes into focus.
It is of a device with two standing triangular pieces and a reinforcement beam running down the center, attached to a rectangular base which has wheels at the four corners.
At the apex of the triangles is a swinging arm. One end of the arm has a large weight, the other has a cord running from it to a sling. The sling, oddly, is shaped like a boot. Within the sling-boot is a bigger, solid boot.
There are calculations picked out in a very careful, if small, hand as well as explanations of each part of the device.
Up in the top corner of the small piece of paper, at an angle is written:
The Tre-boot-chet. Because everyone needs a good kick in the butt sometimes. ::
(narrator insertion: or the head, back, arm... the Tre-boot-chet is not an exact science. And is still in prototype.
ps - No... it can't fling anvils. That would be a Tre-anvil-chet. 'duh.
pps - And doesn't that sound like pig-Latin?
pp (to infinity) s - Annnnd... the narrator agrees with Alice. Just saying.)

Kelsey stepped back, shaking her head. "I don't think this has anything to do with Liberty. Probably just more escapees that got out with the Rats of Whim."

She nodded to Alice. "She's right. Let's get moving. Shadegrove, or the diner, or the industrial complex."

"Shadegrove," Alice intoned with a shrug. "We know she was there, because she met the kid there." She continued her pacing.

Leo started walkng at a speed walking pace and put his index fingers to his temples. He was calculating the escape roots they would have to cover.

"Sally can u an alice swing wide an approach from the west an south. Madrigus can you swing wide an come from the east. Kelsey from the north with me. With this approach we should ve able to cover all view angles and force her towards one group. If anyone decides to join or game on our way there. Alice they joing you, then Sally, an finally Madrigus in that order. I highly doubt we will get three more people on our way there though." He said trying to calculate their odds of success.

Stuck to the back wall of the condos, where the crawl-space beneath Liberty's condo dumps into the woods, is a blue B post-it. On it is written:
I like the word prestidigitation

For the sake of brevity can we assume the group moves on to the power plant after potential teeth grinding and grumbling? And rising compulsion to pummel – I’m looking at you Alice!
If so, I"ve got it covered. Otherwise...
Eh, no dictation of actions. Do what you will, but I can't promise more animal high jinx won't ensue.
lurv - the narrator

Alice refrains from pummelling anyone. She should really get a gold star for her obvious show of restraint. Otherwise she toddles off with the others, refraining from hitting people with obvious disapproval at the universe.