Benny the Rat was a known informant on the streets of Chicago. On one Labor Day evening, Benny was due to meet with Professor Richard Manchester behind The Nest concerning an alicorn.
When the informant was thrown out of the blues club by bouncer Mike Patterson for being a "stoolie", he found a group of adventurers there to make the appointment instead, as Manchester was gunned down by members of the Mafia.
Manchester's dying words had sent the group to him, and Benny in turn directed them to a friend in New York.