Metal Scream By Jade F. Callan (For DJ, that lovely young woman of mystery!) "What is with you tonight, Felina?" Chance leaned back in the chair he was sitting in, cradling the phone on his shoulder. He had called Felina on the phone down in the hanger, after Jake had headed upstairs to watch Litterbin, but all she seemed to want to do was fight. Chance couldn't even remember what they were fighting about, if anything. "Look, T-Bone, why are you being so difficult?" Felina's voice rang in his ear. "I'm being difficult? Listen, I know you're upset I haven't been able to see you in a couple of weeks, but......" Chance began to answer her. "No kidding!" Felina cut him off, "I can understand you're busy, but for over two weeks? I gave you your own set of keys over two months ago so you could come and go at your leisure, not just to rattle around in your pocket!" "Do you want them back?" Chance asked hotly, instantly regretting his words. "No, of course not," Felina answered, her voice softening, "I just would like to see you on a more regular basis, and I can't come to you. Waiting for you to have time to come to my place gets a little frustrating after a while." "I know, beautiful, I know," Chance's voice also grew gentle, "Things have just been busy. You have been on my mind, you know," Chance looked over toward his locker, where his g-suit hung, and thought of the silver bi-plane pinned under its collar. "I miss you," Felina said simply. "I miss you too," Chance answered, "I'll be there tomorrow night, come hell or high water." "OK," Felina didn't sound convinced, "I love you, T-Bone." "I love you too, Felina," he replied, "See you tomorrow night." "Good night," Felina hung up. As he leaned forward and replaced the phone, Chance cursed under his breath. There were so many different demands on his time lately, and Felina usually was the one thing that got pushed aside, and she was the most important. Chance looked around the hanger, surveying all the new missiles and gadgets he and Jake had been working on the past two weeks. It wasn't as if he had been ignoring her on purpose, he told himself. There was work to be done, and Viper showing up last week hadn't helped matters any. It had been busy at the garage as well, and Chance couldn't just abandon Jake. He wished he could tell Felina everything, but he knew that wouldn't be wise, at least not yet. With a sigh, Chance stood up and headed for the ladder, definitely ready for the day to be over. ********************************************************** Upstairs, Chance found Jake on the couch in front of the TV, seemingly engrossed in Litterbin's show. Standing beside the couch, however, Chance realized that Jake wasn't laughing, "What's wrong, buddy?" Chance asked. Jake raised the remote and turned the TV off, "Got a call from Enforcer Headquarters," he told Chance as he tossed the remote aside on the couch and stood up. "Oh?" Chance waited for the punch line. "There's been some sort of clerical error," Jake said, facing Chance, "We've got to go down and straighten it out tomorrow. That's going to set us back some," Jake walked past his partner and headed for his bedroom, "Looks like we're in for another late night tomorrow. Good night," Jake called as he closed his bedroom door. "Great. Just great," Chance muttered as he turned out the lights. Felina would kill him if he didn't show up at her place tomorrow night. Chance thought about calling her again, then decided against it. I'll sort it out tomorrow, he thought, heading for his own bedroom. ********************************************************** "And this is the evidence room," Officer Snow said, opening the door and leading a group of rookies into the room, "Hi, Smitty." "Little late for a tour, isn't it?" Smitty looked up from his paper, and turned down his radio. "Yeah, well, I won't have time tomorrow," Snow told him, then turned back to the group, "Now, stay together, and don't touch anything," Snow reached over and took Smitty's keys off the desk, then walked over and opened the gate to the main evidence holding area. "Pretty cool, huh?" One rookie in the back whispered to his neighbor. "It's OK," the other one whispered back, "but I thought the computer room was more interesting." "Thompson! Kennedy!" Snow raised his voice, "Do you two have something to share with the rest of us?" All eyes swung around to the two in the back. "No, Sir," they answered in unison, eyes on the floor. "All right, then," Snow led the group through the gate, all the while lecturing them on the procedures for collecting, tagging, and logging in evidence. Thompson and Kennedy, bringing up the rear, began to lag behind. "Hey, Thompson," Kennedy whispered, "Check this out." Thompson turned to find Kennedy staring at a pair of robot heads, "The Metalikats," he observed in a low voice. "Now this is cool," Kennedy declared, putting out a paw towards the robot heads. "Hey, Snow said not to touch anything," warned Thompson as he glanced nervously at the group moving off to the left. "Yeah, well Snow's not here right now," Kennedy snapped, running his fingers over Mac Manges' exposed circuitry. Picking the head up, Kennedy popped open the access plate at the base of the head and poked at the wires. "C'mon, Kennedy," Thompson pleaded, "We're gonna get into trouble." "Don't be such a scaredy kat," Kennedy answered, closing the plate on Mac's head, "Look, here's their bodies," Kennedy pointed to a lower shelf, where Mac and Molly's deactivated bodies lay. "Looks like the SWAT Kats did quite a number on them," Thompson observed, "Not to mention Commander Feral." "Yeah, I can't wait to see action like that," Kennedy said as he set Mac's head back on the shelf, "C'mon, we'd better catch up to the others before Snow misses us." The two rookies turned and hurried after the main group, hoping no one had noticed their absence. Behind them, Mac Manges' red eyes slowly glowed to life........ ********************************************************** Chance awoke with a groan as his alarm clock rang on the bedside table. Silencing the clock with his fist, he rubbed his eyes, then threw back the covers. Getting out of bed, Chance stumbled to the door, opened it, and lumbered down the hall to the bathroom. After a quick shower, he got dressed and headed for the kitchen, where he found Jake reading the newspaper and eating breakfast. "Morning," Chance greeted Jake as he got some coffee and a couple of donuts. "Morning," Jake returned the greeting, engrossed in the paper. "Anything interesting?" Chance asked, sitting down at the table. "Few new things from Pumadyne," Jake answered, finishing the article and folding the paper, "Ready to face Enforcer Headquarters?" "No, but do we have a choice?" Chance replied. "Nope," Jake got up and put his dishes in the sink, "Of course, you could always stay here and greet Burke and Murray." "Let's get moving!" Chance gulped down the last of his coffee and got up from the table. The two headed downstairs, out into the salvage yard, and climbed into their tow truck. ********************************************************** Mac finally made the last adjustments and closed the access plate on his chest. He was glad Molly wouldn't need nearly as much work. Mac reached up and retrieved Molly's head from the upper shelf, opened the access plate, and set to work. ********************************************************** As the tow truck rattled through the gates of the salvage yard, Jake sincerely hoped they would miss Burke and Murray altogether. No such luck. "Oh, no!" Jake groaned as the dump truck hove into view. "Just what I needed today!" Chance's grip on the steering wheel tightened. "Hey, fellas," Burke called down as the two vehicles passed each other, "where ya goin' in such a hurry? Ol' Feral snap his fingers? We'll be sure to leave this stuff in a convenient place for ya," laughter floated back at the tow truck as Burke and Murray drove through the salvage yard gate. "Chance.....," Jake looked at his partner. "Grrrrrrr!" Chance ground his teeth, but fought the urge to turn the truck around, go back, and pound the stuffing out of Burke and Murray. His foot pressed down on the accelerator. Jake rolled his eyes. It was going to be one of those days. Suddenly, the truck turned off the main road and began to bounce down a little used side road. "Aw, Chance, not the short-cut!" Jake protested, digging his claws into his seat. ********************************************************** Felina fidgeted with the button holding her collar together, bored beyond belief. She had pulled desk duty today, and shuffling paper had long been one of her least favorite activities. Now, there was a systems problem, and her computer screen was frozen. With a sigh, Felina leaned her chair back, propped her feet up on the desk, and settled in for a long wait. Her thoughts turned to T-Bone, and the state of her love life. He better show up tonight, she thought to herself, for no other reason than so I can strangle him. ********************************************************** Mac continued to make adjustments to Molly's body. He had finished with her head, and, as soon as her body was ready, he only needed to give her a little juice to get her systems up and running. Carefully making the final adjustments, mac reached for Molly's head. Very soon, he thought, Feral was going to pay for putting them in here. Mac fit Molly's head onto her body, keeping an ear out for any uninvited visitors who might wander back into the evidence room. ********************************************************** Jake and Chance, having parked their truck a few blocks away, walked up the street and climbed the front stairs of the Enforcer Building. "Been a long time since we were in here," Jake said. "It's not exactly on my top ten list, bud," Chance responded. "It wasn't a bad place to live, all in all," Jake, reaching the top of the stairs, pressed the door release, then quickly scrambled out of the way as the imposing figure of Commander Feral exited the building. "I can think of a few drawbacks," Chance muttered as they watched Feral descend the steps. "C'mon, let's get this over with," Jake again pressed the door release, and the two entered the building. ********************************************************** Felina, still reclining in her chair, poked at her keyboard. Getting no response, she glanced over at the desk next to hers. Paul Lynx was sound asleep, his head on his desk. Not a bad idea, Felina thought to herself as she leaned forward and picked up the phone. Dialing the internal number for the computer control room, she got a busy signal. Returning the phone to its cradle, she again leaned back in her chair, a rather cross look on her face. I wish something would happen, Felina thought to herself. ********************************************************** Mac unhooked the cables from Molly's circuitry and closed the plate on her chest. Carefully, he disconnected them from his own power source and waited for her to come around. "Molly? You OK?" Mac asked his wife. Slowly, Molly's red eyes glowed to life, "Mac? Where are we?" "Enforcer evidence room," Mac answered her as he helped Molly to her feet. "How'd we get here?" Molly steadied herself against the shelves on her right. "Feral and the SWAT Kats. Don't you remember? They cut in on our beautiful bank robbery," Mac told her, "You sure you're OK, Molly?" "I'm fine!" Molly snapped as she stood upright, "Now, whadda ya say we teach those Enforcers a lesson?" "What'cha got in mind?" Mac wondered. "If we take over this building, Feral would give us whatever we want," Molly pointed out, "Including the Deputy Mayor." "Sounds good," Mac replied, "Sometimes, Molly, you do come up with a dozy. Let's get things rolling." The two robots moved towards the front of the evidence cage, and aimed their weapons at the gate. ********************************************************** Jake and Chance waited by the elevators, Chance drumming his fingers on the wall in impatience. So far, they had been to two different departments. The first department, on the first floor, had sent them to a department in the basement, and the one in the basement had just sent them to a department on the fifth floor. "Hell of a way to get the grand tour," Chance mumbled. "Hey, you knew this was bound to happen," Jake said coolly. "Clawson! Furlong! I don't believe it!" a voice behind them called. Both Jake and Chance turned around to see a familiar figure striding towards them. "Snow! Long time no see!" Chance greeted the kat as they shook paws. "Hi ya, Snowy old pal!" Jake shook Snow's paw in turn. "What are you two doing here? I thought Feral bounced you years ago," Snow looked them up and down, noting the mechanics coveralls they both wore, "Something about a salvage yard?" "Well, technically, we're still Enforcers," Chance began to explain. "Yeah, just not allowed to fly," Jake continued, "Feral's making us serve out our original twenty year enlistment at the salvage yard, to pay for that building he claims we took out." "Bummer. The poker games around here have never been the same without you two," Snow told them, "So, you're still technically on the force, huh? I wondered how Feral was forcing you two to stay at that salvage yard." "Yeah, he's determined to get his twenty years out of us one way or another," Chance said, "At least we have a roof over our heads." "Well, I gotta go. We're training rookies, and there's a lot of catching up to do, paperwork wise," Snow turned around, "Nice to see you guys again." "See ya, Snow," Jake called as their old friend retreated down the hall. Jake noticed Snow was shaking his head as he walked away. "Bye!" Chance also noticed Snow's shaking head, and turned to Jake, "Guess we're not socially acceptable around here anymore, buddy." "I can't say I blame them," Jake said, "I mean, if Feral did this to us, what could he do to them?" "I guess you're right," Chance replied, turning to face the elevators again, "Hey, we missed our ride!" Irritated, Chance stepped over and punched the elevator call button again. ********************************************************** Felina was getting a cramp in her leg. Still leaning back in her chair, she could hear Lynx snoring away at his desk. The system was still down, and the stack of paperwork on her desk was still imposing. Deciding it was time for a break, Felina brought the front two legs of her chair down firmly onto the floor with a thump, startling Lynx into semi- consciousness for a moment. Getting up, Felina headed for the door. "I'm going out for some air," Felina called to the supervisor, Major Steel. "Wait, you can't just.....," Steel began, but Felina was already out the door. Frowning, Steel turned back to the report he was typing on the manual typewriter someone had left on his desk. She gets away with too much, he thought to himself. ********************************************************** Felina walked to the elevators and pressed the call button, lost in thought. She mulled over the state of her life, and smiled. She was happy, healthy, had a job she loved most of the time, and in love. Granted, her lover was rather elusive, but she could think of worse situations. The elevator doors opened, and Felina, still lost in thought, stepped on board. "Well, well," a familiar voice broke Felina's train of thought, "if it isn't the daredevil Lieutenant Feral!" "Sami!" Felina spied her pretty blonde friend at the back of the elevator, "It's been too long!" Felina moved beside Sami, giving her a hug. "Yeah, well, the Records Department and the hanger are pretty far apart. How's everything? You still living upstairs?" Sami asked. "Nope, moved out about two months ago," Felina replied, "You've gotta see my new place." "I'm free tonight," Sami offered. "Um, tonight's not good," Felina told her, "I'm expecting company." "Male company?" Sami giggled as Felina blushed unexpectedly, "Oh, my, the stand-offish Lieutenant Feral has a boyfriend?" "Yes, if you must know," Felina smiled in spite of herself, "And he hasn't been able to come by in a while, so we want some privacy......Hey, I missed my floor!" "It's not going much farther down," Sami pointed out, "and, besides, I want to hear more about this boyfriend," the two she-kats were now alone in the elevator. "Now, now," Felina wagged her finger at her friend, "don't be so nosy. The whole three months of basic training, you were always such a gossip." "And you would never tell me anything," Sami returned, "Now, talk!" As the elevator came to a stop in the basement, Felina leaned forward to press the button for the first floor. The doors opened, and two tom-kats in mechanics coveralls entered the elevator. Felina noted that the larger of the pair was staring at her, while the smaller one pressed the button for the fifth floor. Chance couldn't believe his luck today. Of all the Enforcers he could have come face to face with, Felina was the last one he was hoping to see. Desperately, he fought the urge to pull her into his arms. She was so damn close, yet so far away. "Can I help you?" Felina asked, noticing that the tom-kat was blocking the elevator doors open. "Um, no, Fe.....Lieutenant Feral," Chance caught himself just in time. Quickly, he moved out of the doorway, fighting the urge to kiss her. "Where were we?" Felina asked Sami. "You were about to tell me all the dirt on this new tom-kat you're seeing," Sami responded, "What did you mean, he hasn't been by in a while?" Chance took a quick glance in Felina's direction, while Jake kept his eyes glued on the numbers above the elevator doors. "He's been busy," Felina explained, "But he better show up tonight, or I'll strangle him!" "Sounds like true love to me," Sami commented, noting the faint tinge of pink returning to Felina's cheeks, "Wait a minute, is it love?" "No time now," Felina said as the elevator doors opened, "See you later!" she sprang out of the elevator. "Oh no you don't, Felina Feral!" Sami was right on Felina's heels, "I want details!" The elevator doors closed before Chance could hear Felina's response. "Brave kat," Jake commented. "Who?" Chance was still recovering from his brush with mortality. "Whomever is brave enough to fall in love with Lieutenant Feral," Jake answered, "She's one sharp she-kat, and probably a hell-kat to boot." "I thought you liked her," Chance looked at Jake. "I do," Jake responded, "but I'm not that brave....or that crazy. I thought you preferred blondes, anyway." Before Chance could answer his partner, the elevator shuddered to a stop, and the lights went out. "Just what we needed," Chance moaned. ********************************************************** Felina, having finally shaken the overly-curious Sami, stood at the bottom of the steps in front of the Enforcer Building. Running a paw through her dark hair, she looked over to the right just in time to see her uncle approaching. Good thing I lost Sami, she thought as she smiled at her uncle. "Hello, Felina," Commander Feral greeted his niece, "What are you doing out here? I thought you had desk duty today." "The systems' been down all morning, and it was beginning to get a little claustrophobic in there," Felina told him, "I needed a break. What about you?" "I had some business at City Hall," Feral said. "And you walked?" Felina asked. "Yes. It's a nice day," Feral responded, "Don't be so shocked." "Sorry, Uncle," Felina was shaking her head, "But when I think of you, I think of that car." "I see," Feral raised an eyebrow at her. "Commander Feral!" Callie Briggs called from behind him, "Can I see you for a moment?" Feral spun around to see the Deputy Mayor approaching, a very determined look on her face. Glancing back at Felina, Feral rolled his eyes, then walked over to Callie. Felina grinned at her uncle's reaction to the pretty blonde politician, noting that he towered over the tiny Callie by at least a foot, but she stood up to him anyway. Gotta give her credit, Felina thought, even if she is a politician. Suddenly, a loud voice made Felina turn toward the Enforcer Building, her eyes wide as she listened. ********************************************************** Mac Mange, after brushing away the debris covering the computer console, turned to Molly, who was standing across the room from him in the main computer control room for Enforcer Headquarters, "Hey, Molly, you got that explosive chain reaction set up yet?" he kicked the moaning semi-conscious Enforcer tech sprawled near his feet. "Whadda ya think I'm doin' over here, my nails?" Molly snapped, "Get on with it! Why do you always take forever to do anything?" "Probably because you're always yammerin' at me!" Mac flipped on the building intercom and leaned over the microphone, "Attention Enforcers! This is Mac Mange. Molly and I have taken over the central computer control room of this building, and rigged the main power source to blow on our command. I wanna talk to Feral immediately, so I would suggest one of you lowlifes find him!" Mac snapped off the intercom, then again looked over at Molly, "Watch them all run like rats from a sinking ship!" "Yeah," Molly responded, "as long as they find the head rat!" "Feral'll talk to us," Mac said confidently, "If for no other reason than to save his precious building!" ********************************************************** In the dark elevator, Jake and Chance were stunned. "This day just gets better and better," Chance announced. "If they see us, Chance, we're in big trouble," Jake warned him, "Remember, Mac and Molly know we're the SWAT Kats." "I know, I know," Chance replied, "We've got to get out of here somehow. Maybe we can borrow a couple of uniforms and helmets. We've gotta stop those two before they blow up this building." "There's probably an access hatch on the ceiling," Jake pointed out, "If you give me a lift, I can probably pop it open , and we can climb up the cable." "You got it," Chance moved over to Jake in the darkness. ********************************************************** Felina swung around to look at her uncle as other Enforcers poured out of the building. Commander Feral's eyes were cold with fury, and he stalked over to his niece. "Lieutenant," Feral growled, "Give me your portable radio. Mine is on my desk." "Yes, Uncle," Felina handed her radio to him. "This is Feral," he snapped into the radio, "What is it you cons want?" "It's so simple even you can understand it, Feral," Mac's voice came over the radio, "We want the Deputy Mayor delivered to us. We got an old score to settle with her. After that, we'll discuss how much it's gonna cost ya to have us disconnect this bomb. Ya got one hour to deliver the Deputy Mayor," Mac broke the connection. "Well, Commander?" Callie Briggs piped up from behind Feral. "Felina," Feral ignored Ms. Briggs for the moment, "Is it possible to set up some type of chain reaction from the computer control room?" "I'm afraid so, Uncle," Felina replied, her eyes on the building, "So I guess I'll just have to go in and stop them!" With that, Felina charged up the front steps, fighting her way through the fleeing Enforcers to the front door. "Felina! No!" Feral called after her, "You can't go in there!" "So arrest me!" Felina answered as she finally forced her way into the building. Commander Feral watched her go, anger mixing with concern on his face. He turned back to Deputy Mayor Briggs, "Well, Ms. Briggs, The Metalikats want you in exchange for deactivating that bomb. At least, that's their first demand." "I see," Callie said, "And?" "I certainly don't intend to hand you over to The Metalikats," Feral told her, "And I think you would be safer back at City Hall." "Oh, no," Callie protested, "I'm staying right here." "Then you can at least stay in your car, out of the way," Feral snapped, "I have enough to worry about here!" Feral reached over to his left and grabbed Steel by the collar, and started issuing orders. Callie, meanwhile, began to make her way back to her car. Finally reaching it, she climbed in and started to rummage around in her purse. Finding the SWAT Kat communicator, she pulled it out and pressed the button, waiting for them to reply. ********************************************************** Felina, finding the elevators had been shut down, ran to the stairwell and started to climb. She had gone up two flights when she came face to face with three other Enforcers trying to flee the building. Ordering them to follow her, the group proceeded up the stairs to the fifth floor. ********************************************************** Jake and Chance clamored onto the top of the elevator, and were pleased to find themselves almost level with the elevator doors on the fourth floor. Chance reached up and managed to pry the doors apart, and Jake scrambled over him and out of the elevator shaft. Leaning back down, Jake gave Chance a paw up. "Thanks, buddy," Chance said, "Now, let's see about getting a change of clothes." "At least something to cover our faces," Jake added, turning his red ball cap around so that the visor partially hid his face. Chance also turned his hat around, and the pair moved off down the hall, checking inside doorways but not finding much beyond offices. ********************************************************** Felina and the other Enforcers carefully exited the stairs on the fourth floor and fanned out, looking around. "Check things out," Felina instructed, "and keep your heads down. The Metalikats are just two floors above us." "Lieutenant Feral!" called one of the officers, "I think I hear something down this way. The elevator doors look like they were forced open." "OK, follow me," Felina moved to the front of the group, and the four crept carefully down the hall. ********************************************************** Jake slowly opened the last door on the right side of the hall, poked his head into the room, and looked around. "Bingo!" he exclaimed. "What'd you find?" Chance asked, coming up behind Jake. "Armory," Jake answered as he moved into the room and turned on the lights. "Cool!" Chance followed him in and closed the door, "And there's a couple of jackets on that chair. We can at least cover up a little," Chance walked over and picked up the jackets, and handed Jake the smaller one. The two donned the jackets, then surveyed the room. "Plenty of firepower here," Jake observed, taking down a couple of guns from their hooks on the wall. "Yeah, and look at this," Chance took Professor Hackle's neural neutralizer off the wall and read the tag that dangled from the weapon, "Hey, Jake," Chance looked up at his partner, "this is for use especially on The Metalikats. It's one of Hackle's gadgets!" "All right!" Jake smiled as he finished buckling a holster around his waist, "At last, some good luck!" Jake put one of the guns he had set down on a chair next to him in the holster, and the other he handed to Chance. "You said it," Chance tucked the gun in one jacket pocket, and the neural neutralizer in the other. "Here, take these, too," Jake handed Chance a handful of small grenades, "Never know what we might need." The two had just stowed the grenades in the pockets of their mechanics coveralls when they heard someone turn the doorknob. Ducking down, both drew their guns and covered the door. Slowly, the door opened, and an Enforcer stepped into the room. "Lieutenant Feral?" Jake lowered his gun and stood up. "You're the two from the elevator earlier today!" Felina exclaimed, lowering her own gun, "How did you get in here?" "We got stuck in the elevator when The Metalikats shut them down," Jake explained, as Chance stood up slowly and lowered his weapon, "We forced open the elevator doors, found the armory, and figured we might need a little firepower." "Only Enforcers are allowed in the armory," Felina snapped, "I should arrest the both of you." "Technically, we are still Enforcers," Chance fired back, "Your uncle didn't kick us completely off the force, only as far as the salvage yard!" "Wait a minute," Felina looked from Jake to Chance, "You're Clawson and Furlong?" "Yep," Jake answered. "I still should arrest you," Felina told them, "but I don't have time. Just stay here, out of the way. I got a job to do," with that, Felina backed out of the armory, closing the door and locking it from the outside. "You know, Jake," Chance turned to his partner, "I never was too good at taking orders from a Feral." "Me neither," Jake smiled. ********************************************************** Felina, calling to the other three Enforcers, assembled the group in front of the elevators. "Who was in the armory, Lieutenant?" one of the three asked her, an officer named Cantos. "No one we need to worry about," Felina answered, "I want you three to sweep the lower floors and make sure no one's injured. If you find any civilians, escort them out." "What about you, Lieutenant?" Officer Cantos wanted to know. "I'm going to take a look in on The Metalikats," she replied, "I want some idea on just where they are and what they're up to." "How are you going to sneak up on them for observation?" Cantos wondered. "Easy," Felina walked over to the open elevator shaft, "I'm going to climb up. Now, get going, and don't forget to monitor your radios. Commander Feral has mine, and he may try to get in touch with anyone still in the building," Felina watched as the three headed for the stairwell, then jumped down onto the top of the elevator car. Reaching up, she began to climb up the cable. ********************************************************** Callie was growing quite angry. She stared at the communicator in disgust, wondering just where the SWAT Kats were. With a sigh, Callie put down the communicator and picked up her car phone to call the Mayor at the golf course. Better let him know what was going on. ********************************************************** Commander Feral paced behind the line of Enforcers he had ordered into position around the perimeter of the building. He was worried about Felina, but didn't want to use the radio for fear of The Metalikats finding out she was in there. In addition, he didn't have much more time before Mac and Molly expected Ms. Briggs to be delivered. While he had no intention of turning the Deputy Mayor over to them, he wasn't quite sure what they would do when faced with his refusal. ********************************************************** Jake and Chance, after breaking the lock Felina had turned on the armory door, left the armory and started down the hall back towards the elevators. "What do you think, should we storm the computer room?" Chance asked. Jake shook his head, "Too risky. A better plan would be for me to go to the auxiliary computer control room and try to disable what they've done to the system. You could sneak up on them via the elevator shaft, and hit them with Hackle's gadget after I disable the computer bomb." "Sounds like a plan to me, bud," Chance said, "Good luck!" "Same to you," Jake headed for the stairs, hoping auxiliary control was still in the basement. Chance, meanwhile, headed for the open elevator shaft. Leaning in, he looked up and was shocked to see Felina about one story up, climbing the cable. He watched her in silence, waiting to see what she was up to. ********************************************************** "Hey, Molly," Mac called to his wife, "Ain't Feral's time about up?" "Yeah," Molly replied, "Perhaps he needs a little reminder. Why don't we give him one?" "Like what?" Mac asked. "You know, that runway on the roof makes me nervous. Let's take it out. I can overload the systems from here, and cause the control tower to explode," Molly began to press some of the buttons in front of her. "Are you nuts? What if you bring the roof down on us?" Mac protested. "You need to switch to decaf," Molly snapped, "I know what I'm doin'. Just call Feral with our little reminder." With a scowl, Mac switched on the radio, "Hey, Feral, when's the Deputy Mayor arrive?" "She doesn't, at least not to be delivered to you two," came Feral's reply. "We'll see about that," Mac snapped, "Hit it, Molly!" Molly pressed a final button, and a loud explosion was heard overhead. The control tower on the top of the Enforcer Building toppled over in ruin, and a helicopter tumbled to the street below, just missing the assembled Enforcers and Ms. Briggs' car. "We ain't kiddin', Feral," Mac called into the radio, "We're gonna destroy a part of this building every half-hour until you deliver both the Deputy Mayor and the contents of the city treasury," Mac cut the connection and turned to Molly, "What should we blow up next?" "How about the lobby? They ain't gonna be receiving guest today," Molly declared, pressing more buttons on her console. "Did you hear something?" Mac cocked his head toward the door. "Like what, rats?" Molly looked up, and then glanced over at the door. "Naw, someone's trying to open the elevator doors," Mac told her, "I'll fix that!" Mac reached for the control panel on his left, and began to search for the elevator controls. ********************************************************** Chance watched as Felina reached the sixth floor and tried to pry the elevator doors apart. Suddenly, he became aware of a crackling sound. Before he could shout a warning, Felina cried out in pain as a blast of high voltage surged through the elevator cable. Chance watched in horror as she twisted against the cable. He heard a loud snap as the cable broke, and there was a swooshing sound as the elevator car began to plummet. Chance grabbed onto the side of the doorway and leaned out as Felina fell towards him. Reaching out, he just managed to grab the back of her uniform as she passed him. With a groan, Chance pulled Felina out of the shaft and into the hallway. Leaning against the wall for support, he held Felina against his chest, and put a paw on the side of her throat to check on her pulse, relieved beyond words to find it. He gently moved his paw to her pale face, still holding her against him with the other arm. "Felina," Chance said softly, "Are you OK?" In answer, Felina moaned and leaned against his chest. After a few moments, she raised a paw to her head, "What hit me?" Her voice was weak. "Several volts of electricity," Chance replied, moving his paw from her face. "I thought it was a tank," Felina leaned against Chance for a few more moments, then tried to push away from him, but was still too disoriented to stand alone. Finally, she stepped to the side of him, and leaned against the wall. After a few more minutes, she got her bearings, and the color returned to her face. "Feel better?" Chance inquired. "Thanks to you," Felina answered, her voice stronger. "Any time," Chance smiled in relief. "Hey," Felina looked around the hallway, "Where's your friend?" "Jake went down to the auxiliary control room to try and fix the damage done by The Metalikats," Chance explained. "I told you two to stay here," Felina's voice was definitely stronger, "Crud, now I've got to go stop him from messing everything up. He'll probably blow up the whole building, with us in it!" she pushed off from the wall and stormed over to the stairwell door, "You stay put!" Felina threw back at Chance as she charged through the stairwell door. ********************************************************** Feral stood behind the line of Enforcers, lost in thought. He was thankful no one had been hurt by that falling chopper, but he had to stop The Metalikats before there were any fatalities. He wondered if perhaps he could slip a ringer in for Ms. Briggs. Glancing around, Feral began to form a plan in his head. He spied a blonde tech that had similar hair to the Deputy Mayor. Excellent, Feral thought to himself as he walked over to the tech, whom he vaguely recognized as a friend of Felina's. ********************************************************** Chance gave Felina enough time to go down at least two flights, then entered the stairwell and climbed to the fifth floor. Entering the hallway, he glanced both left and right, then crept off to the right, stopping under the air vent in the wall. Carefully, he started to remove the screws holding the vent in place with his claws. Finally, the vent came loose. Setting it aside, Chance pulled himself into the air shaft and began to search for the cross vent leading up to the sixth floor. ********************************************************** Jake navigated his way through the electronic mayhem Mac and Molly had created in the main computer system. The systems were definitely more sophisticated since the last time Jake had access to them, and more safeguards had been added, undoubtedly a reaction to Hard Drive's little visit a few months ago. To Jake's relief, however, the underlying systems were basically the same as he remembered them. Accessing a backdoor program, Jake soon found exactly what he was looking for - a section in the main logic program where he could insert a circular non-ending loop program. Quickly, Jake typed in instructions for the computer to find all possible prime numbers in existence, and made his program take precedence over all other systems. Finishing that, he then turned his attention to disabling the chain reaction Molly had set up. ********************************************************** Sami nervously fingered the collar of Callie's pink dress, which she now wore. When Commander Feral had approached her and asked her to impersonate the Deputy Mayor, Sami had agreed immediately, but she was nervous about the whole thing. The fact that Felina was in the building made her feel a little better, but Sami still hoped Commander Feral was right about this. In her opinion, the only thing she and Ms. Briggs had in common was blonde hair, and the Deputy Mayor definitely had much more hair than Sami did. "Ready, Higgins?" Feral asked as he walked towards Sami. "Yes, sir," Sami replied, going over the plan in her head. She was wearing a wire, so everything The Metalikats said could be monitored. She also carried a computer disk with a program to deactivate the main computer system, to be used if the opportunity arose. "Are you sure about this, Commander Feral?" Callie stood off to his right, now attired in Sami's uniform, "I'm not certain we look enough alike to fool The Metalikats." "It'll at least get her into the building," Feral pointed out, "And then we'll have a better idea what we're dealing with. Now, Higgins, you have your instructions. Go stand outside the main entrance until I give you the signal." Sami walked over to the front stairs of the Enforcer Building and began to climb them. As she went, she heard Commander Feral speak into the radio, calling to Mac Mange. "This is Feral," He growled into the radio, "Deputy Mayor Briggs is coming in." "About time," Mac's voice came from the radio, "Tell her to use the stairs, and be quick about it. What about our money?" One thing at a time," Feral snapped back, "I'm sending the Deputy Mayor in." "No funny business, Feral," Mac warned, "or we're gonna turn this building into a pot hole," the radio went dead. Feral nodded to Sami, who was standing at the front door of the building. At his nod, she entered the building through the broken doors. ********************************************************** As Jake worked to disable the chain reaction bomb, he heard Lieutenant Feral calling him and pounding on the door. Thankful he had locked the door when he came in, Jake ignored her and continued with his work. Outside, however, Felina wasn't taking no for an answer. "Stand back," Felina ordered the other three Enforcers, whom she had rounded up on her way down to the basement, "I'm going to blast the door." Drawing her gun, Felina took aim and fired at the doorknob. Kicking the door open, she stalked in, gun raised, and found Jake still hunched over the keyboard. "Hello, Lieutenant," Jake greeted her, not looking up from the computer screen. "Freeze!" Felina commanded, advancing on Jake. "Almost got it," Jake told her, typing furiously. "I said freeze," Felina moved faster, still advancing on Jake's left. Without breaking his concentration, Jake reached down with his right paw and drew his gun, the motion shielded from Felina by his body, "I've almost got the bomb deactivated, Lieutenant." "If you don't stop, I'm going to shoot," Felina informed him, coming to a stop a few feet away. As he brought his finger down on the enter key, Jake tensed his body, and tightened his grip on the gun. Pressing the key, Jake also thrust with his legs, and shot away from the desk as Felina fired. Spinning, Jake brought his gun to bear and pulled the trigger, knocking Felina's gun out of her paw. Felina, thrown off guard for a moment, tensed with a low growl and prepared to charge Jake. The other three Enforcers entered the room, weapons drawn, and covered Felina. "Wait, I give up!" Jake dropped the gun and raised his paws. Felina, rubbing her wrist, rushed to the computer, while the others leveled their weapons at Jake. "The system's a mess!" Felina exclaimed, studying the screen at the terminal Jake had just vacated, "What did you do?" Felina turned and gave Jake a hard look. Jake simply shrugged at her. Before she could return her attention to the computer screen, a loud explosion from above stopped her. "What was that?" one of the other Enforcers wanted to know. "Can't you two ever stay put?" Felina snapped at Jake. ********************************************************** Looking out of the vent, Chance could just see Mac and Molly sitting at two computer terminals. He wondered how he would know if Jake had succeeded in destroying their little computer bomb. Chance didn't have to wonder for long. "Something's wrong here!!" Molly called to Mac. "Whadda you mean?" Mac responded, turning to look at her. "Some lowlife's in the computer system!" Molly exclaimed, reaching for the keyboard, "I'm gonna blow him out of cyberspace!" Upon hearing that, Chance drew both his gun and a handful of grenades. Bringing the gun up, he blew out the vent and activated three grenades, tossing them into the room. "What the......," both Mac and Molly turned towards the sound of Chance's gun, but were unable to react in time. The grenades exploded, tearing the computer equipment to shreds. The Metalikats were thrown against the wall, momentarily stunned. Chance took advantage of the situation and slid out of the air shaft. He dug in his pocket for more grenades as he took cover behind a smoking bank of exposed circuitry. "I'm gonna fry you!" Mac informed Chance, rising to his feet and aiming his weapon at Chance's hiding place. "Not today, boltbrain!" Chance retorted as he threw four more grenades. The resulting explosion destroyed what the first missed, and blew out the dividing wall between the computer room and the back hallway, exposing the windows beyond. Taking a risk, Chance peeked over the top of the console, then ducked back down as Molly fired at him. "Come out and play, lowlife!" Molly called, as Mac began to circle around to take Chance by surprise. "Sorry, game over," Chance answered, digging in his pocket for more grenades, but coming up empty, "Aw, crud!" "What'sa matter, chump?" Mac asked from behind Chance. Chance rolled and fired, catching Mac in the chest, but his gun had no effect on Mac's super-alloy body. "Oooooo, that tickles!" Mac said, raising his arm and aiming the weapon attached to it at Chance, "Bye-bye, tough guy!" "I don't think so," a voice behind Mac said, and the robot was suddenly enveloped in a red glow. Slowly, the glow faded, and Mac pitched forward, his red eyes going dark, and crashed to the floor next to Chance. "Thanks, uh, Ms. Briggs?" Chance focused on the figure in pink standing before him, noting she held the neural neutralizer. "Not quite," Sami told him, crouching down behind the console, "Officer Sami Higgins. I was sent in by Commander Feral to try and fool The Metalikats. By the way, did you drop this?" Sami held out the neural neutralizer. "Yeah, and thanks for the backup," Chance took the weapon from her, "Are you armed?" "Yep," Sami produced her gun, "Enforcers usually are." "OK, you fire and distract Molly, getting her out in the open. I'll hit her with this," Chance held up the neutralizer, "Ready? On three." Sami nodded, and slowly raised her gun up over the console. In a low voice, Chance counted to three, as Sami took aim in the direction she had last seen Molly. At the count of three, Sami fired, then ducked back down. As soon as Molly popped out to return fire, Chance nailed her with the neural neutralizer. "Rock and roll!" Chance exclaimed, as Molly collapsed in a heap, her eyes going dark. Sami leaned closer to the wire concealed in her dress and spoke, "Commander, this is Higgins. The Metalikats have been neutralized. The building is secure." ********************************************************** Felina decided to take a chance on the radio, and pressed a button on the console to her left, then leaned over the radio microphone, "Uncle, can you read me?" "Loud and clear," Feral responded, "Just got a call from Officer Higgins, the Metalikats have been neutralized." "You sent in Sami?" Felina was incredulous, "And I thought Furlong and Clawson were causing all the excitement!" "Furlong and Clawson?!?!?!" roared Feral, "What are those two doing in there? Felina, go up to the sixth floor and take command of the situation. I'll meet you there as soon as I can. Don't let Furlong and Clawson out of your sight!" Feral cut the connection. "You heard him," Felina said to Jake as she retrieved her gun, "Let's go find your partner," she motioned for him to stand. Jake stood up and headed for the door, followed by Felina. The other Enforcers fell in behind Felina, and the five of them entered the stairwell and headed for the sixth floor. With Jake in the lead, the group entered the hallway and headed towards the computer room. "What a mess!" Jake observed as he entered the computer control room. "No kidding," Chance said, "Thanks for the help, buddy." "Any time," Jake caught sight of Sami, "Ms. Briggs?" "Nope, I'm Officer Higgins," she replied, watching Felina and the other Enforcers as they came through the door behind Jake. "What happened in here?" Felina spat, gazing at the destruction in amazement. "A small war, Felina, " Chance replied. "That's Lieutenant Feral to you, buster," Felina shot back as she and the other Enforcers examined the prone Metalikats. "And a better explanation is in order as well," Commander Feral put in as he entered the room, "Higgins, good job. I expect your report later today." "Yes, Sir," Sami took a deep breath. It was now or never, she told herself, "Commander Feral, may I ask, in light of this mission, for your recommendation to attend flight school and officer's training? I did qualify after basic, but there was no room for me," Sami shifted nervously, but held Feral's eyes with her own. Feral regarded the young Enforcer, "You've got guts, Higgins," he said after a few moments, "And you've got your recommendation, upon review of your record, of course." "Thank you, Sir," Sami smiled as she left the room. Chance noted that Jake watched the pretty she-kat rather intensely. "As for you two," Feral turned to Jake and Chance, "The size of your bill just increased." "What!?!?!?" Chance shrieked. Jake could only stare at Feral incredulously. "You heard me," Feral said coldly. "So did I," Callie Briggs, still in Sami's uniform, entered the room, "Seems to me you should be thanking these two, Commander Feral." "Thanking them? Look at the destruction they caused," Feral's arm swept over the room, "Only the SWAT Kats could have done more damage!" "Do you have any proof they did this?" Callie asked. "Yes," Felina cut in, "I saw him," she pointed at Jake, "destroy our computer system. I'm sure Sami saw the other one blow this place up." "You were saying, Ms. Briggs?" Feral raised an eyebrow at the Deputy Mayor, "Besides, they are still technically Enforcers, and therefore still under my command," Feral pointed at Jake and Chance, "You two stay right here. Major Steel will be taking your statements, starting with why you were in this building today in the first place. Felina, if they try to leave, shoot them." With that, Feral swept out of the room, Callie on his heels, still protesting his treatment of her friends. With a growl, Chance doubled his fists and started after Feral, only to find Felina blocking his path, gun drawn. Turning, Chance sank his fist into the nearest wall. "That's gonna add to your bill," Felina observed calmly. "You're enjoying this!" Chance accused her. "Immensely," Felina replied, putting her gun away. "Furlong! Clawson! This way!" Steel's head popped into the doorway. "C'mon, let's get this over with," Jake said, walking towards the door. With one last glance at Felina, Chance followed his partner. ********************************************************** A Few Hours Later ********************************************************** Jake and Chance finally made it back to their truck, only to find a parking ticket under the wiper. Fuming, Chance snatched up the ticket and shoved it into his pocket. The two climbed into the truck, and Chance fired up the engine. He put the truck in gear and started to drive towards the salvage yard. "What a day," Chance said, blinking as the setting sun shone in his eyes. "You said it," Jake responded, leaning back in his seat, "Not only did we have to deal with The Metalikats, we still didn't get that clerical error sorted out, which means we'll probably have to go back to Enforcer Headquarters in a few days." "Don't remind me," Chance groaned, "We'll probably have to see that twit Steel again, just to top it all off!" "So, what happened up there in the computer control room? You never told me," Jake asked Chance. "Well, when I reached the elevator shaft, I found it already occupied....," Chance proceeded to relate his adventures to his partner. "Wow, quite a story," Jake said when Chance finished, "About the only really exciting moment for me was when I had to shoot at Lieutenant Feral." "You shot Felina?" Chance almost drove off the road. "No, I shot her gun out of her paw. Lemme start from the beginning," Jake told Chance his own adventures of the day. "Boy, I bet Felina was annoyed with you," Chance said as Jake finished. "I doubt either of us are too high on her list right now," Jake pointed out, "She didn't even try to find out which one of us was which." "It was pretty funny to see Callie in an Enforcer uniform," Chance changed the subject. "And someone else in her suit," Jake added, thinking again of the pretty Enforcer who had shown so much backbone today. The two rode on in silence, just thankful to be heading home after an unbelievably long day. A little ways from the salvage yard, an alarm on the truck's dashboard yelped for attention. "What now?" Chance asked. "Something, or someone, has broken into the hanger," Jake told him, "Step on it." "You don't suppose Feral let The Metalikats escape, do you?" Chance made some adjustments to the dashboard controls and pressed the accelerator to the floor. "Possible," Jake answered, "Only one way to find out!" The truck roared through the gate to the salvage yard and up to the front of the garage. The tires screeched in protest as Chance slammed on the brakes. The two leaped out of the truck and entered the garage at a run, Jake checking his pocket to make sure the Enforcer grenades were still there. The two came to a stop in front of the entrance to the hanger. "Do you want to go in fast or slow?" Chance asked Jake. "Let's climb down and have a look," Jake replied, "It may just be a raccoon. Take a few of these," Jake handed Chance a couple of grenades. Chance opened the hatch, and Jake climbed down to the hanger. Chance followed, and the two crept through the darkened hanger to their lockers to retrieve their gloveatrixes. Thus armed, Jake snapped on the lights. The two looked around the hanger, gloveatrixes up, their gazes coming to rest on the Turbokat. "Felina!" Chance exclaimed in surprise. "Hell of a greeting," Felina observed, reclining on the wing of the jet. "What are you doing here, Lieutenant Feral?" Jake lowered his gloveatrix and pulled it off his paw. After a moment, Chance followed suit. "Playing a hunch," Felina replied, "Don't deny anything, guys. I'm not stupid." "Never thought you were," Chance laid his gloveatrix aside on a workbench to his left, "What gave us away?" "SImple," Felina dropped down off the wing of the jet and walked towards Chance, "When I fell in the elevator shaft, you caught me and held me until I came to," she now stood directly in front of Chance. Felina reached out and slowly ran her finger along his shoulder, "Let's face it, this is a body I'm very familiar with, even if it has been two weeks." Chance caught her paw, "You figured it out from my holding you?" "Yep," Felina withdrew her paw, "That, and your personnel files." "And just what do you intend to do with this information?" Jake cut in. "Nothing," Felina said, her eyes still on Chance. "Uh, Jake, there's something I need to explain about Felina and me," Chance began, turning to his partner. "What, that you two are lovers?" Jake interrupted, "Do you think I'm that dumb? Or that blind?" "I...uh...I guess I never....," Chance stammered. "I've known about it for the past few months," Jake informed him, "A kat doesn't get that distracted unless the cause is love. You could've told me, though." "Uh, yeah," Chance looked sheepish, "Sorry, buddy. I just wasn't sure what to say." "It's OK," Jake replied to his partner, then turned to Felina, "But a love affair with Commander Feral's niece can be risky, especially with what she now knows." "I'm my own kat, you know," Felina looked at Jake, "I don't tell my uncle everything. Your secret is safe with me, I give you my word," she held out her paw to Jake. After a moment, he took it, and the two shook. "OK, Lieutenant," Jake withdrew his paw, "I trust you. I don't really have a choice." "My name's Felina," she answered with a smile. "Jake," he smiled back. "Don't worry, Jake," Felina said, "I definitely can keep a secret." "So can I. I doubt your uncle would approve of your little romance," Jake observed, "I guess we're trading confidences, Felina." "Guess so," she replied. "You two undoubtedly have a lot to discuss," Jake tossed his gloveatrix onto the workbench where Chance's lay, "I'm going upstairs," Jake walked over to the access ladder and climbed out of the hanger. Chance watched his partner go, then turned back to Felina. The two stood in silence for a few moments. "You could have told me," Felina spoke at last. "How?" Chance asked. "Good point," she conceded. "I guess it's not me you love, anyway," Chance turned away from her. "What in the name of my nine lives are you talking about?" Felina wondered. "It's T-Bone you love, not Chance," he explained, "T-Bone is the SWAT Kat. I'm just a washed-up Enforcer, stuck being a mechanic in your uncle's salvage yard for the next hundred years." "Aren't you and T-Bone one and the same?" Felina asked. "Are we?" Chance countered. "As far as I'm concerned, you are," Felina walked around him until they were facing each other again. She stood very close to Chance, "I fell in love with you, hotshot, not the jet and the g-suit." "You sure?" Chance couldn't meet her eyes. "Look at me," Felina ordered. Chance slowly brought his eyes up to meet hers, "I love you, Chance Furlong. You can call yourself T-Bone, or Mac Mange, or The Pastmaster for all a name matters. Underneath it all, it's still you. If it wasn't, I never would have figured anything out at all," Felina reached up and put her arms around his neck. "Felina," Chance slid his arms around her waist, "I love you so much. I was afraid that, if you knew.....," Chance, unable to continue his sentence, pulled her close and kissed her. "I guess you believe me, huh?" Felina asked when they paused. "C'mon. Making love in a hanger was never my style," Chance released her and led her by the paw to the access ladder. When the two reached the top, Chance closed the hatch and again took her by the paw, leading her through the living room and down the hall. Jake had tactfully made himself scarce, going down to the garage to check on things. "Nice place," Felina grinned. "Your uncle's our decorator," Chance replied as they reached his bedroom. He opened the door and pulled her inside, and then closed the door behind him. Felina walked over to the bed, leaned over, and turned on the lamp on the nightstand. When she turned back around, Chance was standing next to her. He again took Felina into his arms, and the two sank down on the bed, kissing passionately. Soon, Chance reached over to turn off the light, but Felina stopped him. "Don't you dare," Felina caught his paw in her own, "There's no reason for it to be dark anymore when we make love." Chance retracted his paw, and looked at her lying beside him, "You're right, and, besides, you're too beautiful not to look at. I love you, Felina," Chance looked deep into her brown eyes. "I love you too, Chance," Felina looked right back at him. Both decided that, although it had been a bumpy ride, this moment had definitely been worth the wait. The End