Chella
___________

Book Four:  The Bomber

	It was three days after they had rescued Katareena from Turmoil,
and Chance was still spoiling for a fight. Jake gathered from Chance's
muttered explainations that Katareena had told him it was over. Before it
began, even.

	Because Chance was so mad, it didn't take much for Burke and
Murray to get him on the edge when they delivered their next load. 

	Before Jake could do or say anything to defuse the situation, a
high-pitched female voice piped up. "Hi'ya! I don't remember you two
brutes!"

	Everyone looked at her. The dark blonde hair and opaque shades
were familiar to Jake. She was the welding artist from about six months
ago. He didn't know whether to be pleased or upset by her presence. Burke
and Murray leered at her.

	To Jake and Chance she asked, "I take it these two aren't close
friends of yours?"

	"Friends with dese two? Are you kiddin', babe? Dese two
ex-Enforcers aren't worth ten minutes of our time," Burke said, sneering
at them.

	"Oh? So you're leaving? So sorry to hear that. Your intelligently
phrased insults were a delight to my ears the entire time I've waited for
you to get your big dump truck out of my way."

	She stood with her gloved paws on her hips, her lips set in a
twist that was both a smile and a frown. Murray and Burke were confused
by her words, not knowing if they were a compliment or an insult.

	They left after having Chance sign their clipboard. The she-kat
looked at Jake and Chance, her expression friendlier than they'd ever
seen it.

	"I'll be back, my pick-up's outside the fence." She walked into
the cloud of dust the dump truck had left behind and turned left at the
gate. 

	"You can go back to the "Scardy Kat" marathon if you want to,
Chance. I can handle this one. She's a welding artist looking for junk
for her sculptures. Shouldn't take more than an hour."

	"Nah, you go inside, Jake. I need to have a little workout and if
I go inside I'll get sucked into the TV."

	Jake looked over his shoulder as the pick-up rumbled into the
salvage yard's lot. "Are you *sure*? She can be kinda...annoying."

	"I'm sure, you go listen for any...calls."

	"Roger," Jake said, and almost ran into the office.

	"Hi! Chance, right?"

	Chance looked at her. She was wearing a grey sweat shirt, jeans,
Kat-Bans, and heavy work gloves. Her dark blonde hair was in a single
long braid down her back. 

	"Yes ma'am. My name is Chance. And yours?"

	"Call me K.P. So, show me your junk."
_____________s______________w__________a___________t________________

	As Chance worked with K.P, he felt his anger and stress melt
away. She smiled a lot and talked a lot. She made jokes that made him
laugh several times. He felt himself warming to her already. Annoying?
Her?

	He helped her lift what used to be a MASA control panel. They put
it on the cart. He was confused by the diversity of the materials she
wanted. She'd chosen monitors, old radar equipment, sheet metal...and
even more unidentifiable things.

	"What do you need all this junk for?" he asked her while they
carried what used to be a helicopter propeller to her truck.

	"Somebody commissioned me to do a big sculpture for their garden.
I never know what I need until I need it. It's better to have a lot than
not enough.

	"You're telling *me*! Are you sure you can drive with all this
stuff in the back?" He eyed the small mountain of metallic junk warily.

	"Are you kidding? You should have seen the pile I got from
another salvage yard! I'll tell you what though, I'm coming here from now
on."

	"Why? Do we have a better selection or something?"

	"That too. You guys don't leer at me like the other guys do. How
much is it?"

	Chance named the price and waited while she went inside the cab
to get the money. K.P. counted it out and thanked him for his help. "See
you later. Next week, maybe. 'Bye, Chance!"

	K.P. drove off. Chance couldn't wait until next week. He walked
into the office feeling much better. Jake was in front of the TV watching
Ann Gora on the news.

	Chance put the money in the cash register and then joined Jake on
the couch. "You seem better," Jake remarked.

	"Much better," Chance agreed.

	"Is she an amateur psychologist or something? You're smiling. You
haven't smiled in days."

	"I'll be fine. Let's watch "Scardy Kat"."
____________s_____________w_____________a______________t___________
	Katareena drove the pick-up to her hangar. It was hard to get to,
a bonus. Five miles of road separated her from Megakat City. It would be
only a snap  by air.

	She was probably two weeks away from completing her Phoenix. The
jet was a masterpiece of welding and engineering. When it was finished,
the colors would be black and silver. The mail controls would be in the
front seat, though it could be flown from the back seat with the proper
codes, if necessary. Unlike other jets, her Phoenix wouldn't have a
'black box'. It would be too dangerous.

	Reena unloaded the truck and separated the materials into two
piles:  Hangar Control and Phoenix. 

	She had great plans for Hangar Control and the Phoenix.
Artificial intelligence was one of them. She already had a working
prototype thanks to something her eldest brother left her. Monitors in
Hangar Control would show news all day. A microchip would know when a
special news bulletin was shown and automatically record it and forward
it to the Phoenix and her lap top computer if she were away from Hangar
Control. 

	As for security precautions, only a special sequence on her
control panel in the Phoenix would open the hidden hatch when she wanted
to enter Hangar Control. The hatch would automatically open when she
wanted to leave. 

	Reena began working on the Phoenix. She admired the work she had
already done. The body was shielded by mega-alloy armor. The metal was
almost indestructible. There was one main thruster and two smaller ones.
By some engineering freak, her engines couldn't be flooded out unless
somehow she were forced into a body of water. The Phoenix was a smaller
than the TurboKat, and more maneuverable. Of course, with all the
bonuses, there was a big sacrifice of speed.

	The TurboKat was beautiful and obviously lovingly made. The same
went for the masterpiece of the Phoenix, made by paws that knew the craft
almost by second nature. From the moment her mother, a mechanic, and her
father, an Enforcer pilot, had met - Klawz was destined to be.

	Katareena had always thought "Klawz" would be what she stenciled
in under the cockpit of the Enforcer jet she would fly. The Enforcers
wouldn't have her because she was female. A few years later, Felina Feral
would be the first female Enforcer, quickly followed by many more. If she
had only waited she would have joined them... 

	But by that time Katareena had already signed a contract with Leo
Vernes. She couldn't get out of her acting career until she had made ten
movies. When she had finally reached that point she had already made a
name for herself doing Enforcer movies. No recruiting officers would have
taken her interest seriously. 

	It was then that she started planning, and the bit of her she was
saving for the Enforcers began taking on her own life. As Klawz. She had
always been there, the entity that was Klawz...

	The ex-Enforcers that had taught her how to be an Enforcer
on-screen also taught her as much as they could about how to fly a jet.
She took the written exams and passed with flying colors. But they were
only written exams, done in secret and graded by ex-Enforcers. 

	They were trust-worthy kats, though. She didn't tell them she was
planning on becoming a vigilante. But she could tell they knew by some
sixth sense. They would keep her secret until their dying day. 

	She was remembering her old pain while fixing a tiny monitor she
would use in the Phoenix. Reena was using the screwdriver in her left paw
and a pair of pliers in her right. She twisted the screwdriver, then
dropped it with a cry. 

	The scar from the kreepling bite had pulled painfully. She would
always have to keep the paw covered when she was pretending to be someone
other than Katareena, the actress. 'K.P.' shouldn't have the same type of
scar and neither should 'Klawz'. Reena massaged the paw until the pain
went away. 

	She checked the monitor. It was ready to be installed.
_______________s____________w___________a____________t______________
	When she wasn't acting in her new movie as Katareena, setting up
her Hangar Control or building the Phoenix as Klawz, she was K.P. getting
new parts at the Megakat City Salvage Yard and Garage.

	Once Jake saw that 'K.P.' wasn't as annoying as she was the first
time he met her, he became as close a friend as Chance was.
____________s_____________w_____________a______________t___________
	Burke and Murray came about once a week. They were there
officially to bring scrap metal, but there unofficially to pick fights
with Chance and Jake, who both knew that. What Chance and Jake couldn't
believe was that *K.P.* wouldn't let them.

	K.P. was usually there the day Burke and Murray came. Their third
mission seemed to be to get a date with her. K.P. always managed to
confuse them into leaving. Her voice was always pleasant, almost
friendly, but her words insulted their looks and intelligence. Not that
either of the two dump truck drivers ever figured it out. As long as K.P.
was around, Jake and Chance weren't reminded by them that they were
kicked out of the Enforcers.

	They appreciated it, but didn't understand why she defended them
so valiantly. Jake decided to ask her the next time she came. Right after
Murray and Burke left.

	"Hey guys, K.P. around?" Burke asked, his eyes practically
swiveling out of control trying to see her.

	"Does it *look* like she's here?" Chance asked sarcastically
while looking at the empty space where she usually parked. 

	"Well...ya never know... Come out to the truck and sign the
clipboard, will ya?" The short kat said.

	Jake and Chance walked out behind Burke. K.P. was parking her
truck. As petite as she was, she almost had to jump down from the
high-slung vehicle.

	"Hi'ya gorgeous! How come you always seem to be here when we're
here?" Murray asked, leering at her.

	Behind the dark glasses she always wore, K.P. probably rolled her
eyes. "I dunno. Just lucky I guess." She walked past him, ignoring him.

	"Hi Jake, Chance! How's business?" K.P. asked, her usual
greeting.

	"It was slow until you got here," Jake said, his usual answer.

	"How come you always smile at dese losers and not us?" Burke
complained. K.P. turned to him.

	"I don't smile at things I pity."

	Chance gaffawed, Jake smiled while he signed his name on the form
on the clipboard. He gave it back to Burke, who took it and left without
saying anything else. He probably didn't understand exactly what she had
meant by her comment.

	K.P. looked at the watch on her right wrist. She had her left
glove on and the right one in her paw. "Hey, Chance, "Scaredy Cat's" on
in five minutes. Hop to it."

	"Crud! I don't even have time for popcorn! See you in a half
hour!" Chance went inside to watch his beloved TV show.

	By now, Jake knew what she liked to get, and could pick out the
best stuff while she worked too. After ten minutes of working in silence,
K.P. came over and stopped Jake from his search.

	"Okay, what's wrong?"

	"Nothing, why?"

	"Well, usually you're full of jokes or stories. You've been as
silent as a grave and your brow is furrowed like you're trying to solve
the secret of King Tukatcomin. Spill it."
	
	"Well...I was trying to find a way to ask you something without
offending you or sounding ungrateful."

	"Shoot, I don't get offended often."

	K.P. probably didn't, so Jake decided to go ahead and ask her his
question bluntly. "Why do you defend us against Burke and Murray's
bullying? You don't always stop all the bad mouthing, but you do always
manage to get them to leave before they bring up our getting kicked out
of the Enforcers."

	"You mean I've never told you two before?"

	"Not me at least."

	"Okay, sit down and I'll tell you." They made themselves as
comfortable as one could on piles of old metal.

	"I was maybe sixteen... I wanted to be an Enforcer. I asked
everyone that knew anything about flying to teach me. When I thought I
knew everything I could be taught outside of actually joining the
Enforcers, I went to the local recruiting center to sign up. The
recruiting officer took one look at me and pointed back the way I had
come. I even scheduled a conference with Commander Feral, I don't
remember what rank he was then, but he was still high up. He looked at me
like he was going to yell at me. I could have handled that, I couldn't
handle the voice he *did* use. 'We don't allow females in the Enforcers,
Little Lady.' He said, like I was a kitten!"

	"Why didn't you join when the *did* allow females to join?" 

	Jake and Chance had gotten over most of their bitterness about
being kicked out, but K.P. sounded like it had happened yesterday even
though it had happened many years before theirs did. The pain was that
fresh in her voice. 

	"I couldn't. It's as simple as that. I had prior commitments.
When those prior commitments were fulfilled I already had a bright career
ahead of me."

	"So, you know what it's like. That's why you protect us."

	"Uh-huh. Did you see that TV special on King Tukatcomin last
night?"

	"Must have missed it. What'd you learn?" he asked brightly,
letting her change the subject. 
________________s______________w______________a__________t__________
	It was done. All of it. Everything. The movie, the Phoenix, and
Hangar Control. Finished all on the same day. At her apartment she sat
down. Three separate she-kats did:  Katareena, K.P, and Klawz.

	The movie was finished a little behind schedule because of her
absence during the kidnapping. The Phoenix was completed late because she
couldn't find a fixable canopy frame. She had to make it herself. The
Hangar Control was finished months ahead of schedule because she had
discovered a small system of caves under the hangar. The caves made her
job much easier because they were of the perfect size and place. The
digging only had to be done where the Phoenix would exit from. 

	Above ground, the hangar looked normal, there were tools and old
parts strewn around an old Enforcer helicopter. The office was filled
with cardboard boxes full of some of her junk. 

	There was only one way into the underground hangar without riding
in on the Phoenix. Directly in front of your eyes too. A closet door. The
door had to be closed while you were inside and you had to lift the light
switch's plate and push the button. Then the closet back opens and a
stairway is revealed. She had put the finishing touches on that today
too.

	Katareena rested inside her apartment for another hour before
forcing herself up again. She had agreed to be a guest on the David
Litterbin show that afternoon.

	From her closet, she pulled a white blouse and a black skirt.
From her jewelry box, she took a silver ankh necklace. A simple, but
elegant outfit. Reena dressed and applied some lipstick, then she left
the apartment.

	She rode the elevator down to the parking basement. Reena climbed
into the red sports car and buckled her seat belt before driving to the
MBC building. The show wouldn't start for another hour and a half, and
she wasn't expected for another hour, so she took the long route. 

	After a while, she noticed a clunking sound under her car. She
pulled over to the side of the road and parked. Katareena checked to make
sure all her tires were sound, peeked under the car, and finally resorted
to popping the hood. She stared at the tubes and wires and gadgets
completely mystified. She was great at fixing jets and helicopters, but
her mother had never gotten around to teaching her the first thing about
fixing a car. 

	"Well, Jake and Chance, it seems I'll be seeing you again real
soon." Katareena closed the hood and got back inside the car. It didn't
take long for her to drive to the garage. She got out and walked to the
office.
____________s_____________w_____________a______________t___________
	Chance nearly fell off the stool he was sitting on. He was just
thinking of Katareena when she walked in.

	Katareena smiled at the two of them and said, "Umm...my car's
making a funny noise, could you help me?"

	"Sure thing, Miss Perkins," Jake declared, getting up from his
seat and following her outside. Chance took a little longer. He shook his
head and decided to get a hold on himself. When he got outside, Jake was
opening the hood of Katareena's sports car.

	"I was driving down the road when I heard this clunking noise
under the car. I might know a little about helicopters, but cars are
beyond me!"

	Chance got the mechanic's creeper and put it by the car. "I'll go
under and have a look." He sat on the rolling equipment, then laid down.
Chance pushed himself under the car and got a good look at what was
giving her the trouble. "Hey, Jake...I think you'd better get a look at
this."

	Jake got his own creeper and joined Chance. Together they looked
at the crude bomb. 

	"Did you find the problem? Can you fix it?" Katareena's innocent
voice floated down to them.

	"Chance, you get her out of here and call the Enforcers. I'll
make sure it doesn't have a timer." Jake's voice was too low to carry to
Katareena.

	Chance pushed his creeper from under the car and stood up.
Katareena looked at him with a curiosity that just might get her killed
if he let her stop him and ask questions. "Follow me inside and we'll
talk about the problem."
____________s_____________w_____________a______________t___________
	"I've got a *what* under my car?" Reena's eyebrows were lost in
her bangs. She had automatically stood up, now she looked out the window
towards her car. "Well, what's *he* doing out there? I didn't think they
taught how to defuse bombs in the Enforcers!"

	"How'd you know he was in the Enforcer's?" He was surprised that
she knew.

	"Oh, I know K.P. When I heard the noise I pulled up at a phone
booth. I told her I was looking for some trustworthy mechanics. She
recommended you guys and reassured me by telling me that you guys were
ex-Enforcers. She wanted me to ask Jake how business was, by the way,"
she said distractedly.

	It didn't surprise Chance that K.P. knew Katareena, she was the
kind of she-kat that meets a lot of people. It didn't surprise him that
she didn't mention Katareena either, K.P.  didn't say anything that
wasn't relevant.

	"Yes, they teach how to defuse bombs in the Enforcers. That one
is a very simple one, probably easy to defuse. It probably wouldn't even
explode."

	Katareena gripped the charm on her necklace. He stood up and
walked over to her. Gently, he guided her to a seat. "Sit. I'm going to
call the Enforcers," he said gruffly.
_________________s_____________w____________a___________t___________
	Katareena sat in her seat, playing with her ankh while watching
the Enforcers take the bomb from under her car. Jake and Chance sat near
her, watching her. She pretended to be more upset than she really was,
but it didn't take much acting.

	"I totally forgot! May I use your phone?"

	"It's right behind the counter," Chance said.

	She got up and walked over to the phone. After waiting for the
receptionist to answer, she had to wait an extra five minutes for the
producer of the David Litterbin Show to pick up. Katareena was very
grateful when he finally did, the 'on hold' music was annoying.

	"Katareena! Are you okay?"

	"I'm fine, I'm not late yet..." 

	"We heard about the bomb!"

	"You *did*? I thought only a few people knew."

	"Leo told us that there was a bomb that exploded in the back of
your car!"

	Reena rolled her eyes, "He was exagerating. When did he call?"

	"About an hour ago. Will you be late or will you come to the next
show?"

	"The next show. I've got to go. I'll call tomorrow, okay?"

	They exchanged good-byes and hung up. She walked dazedly back to
her chair and sat down. Nobody's contacts were *that* good, not even
Leo's. Chance and Jake hadn't even found the bomb an hour ago. Leo had
planted the bomb, or had it planted.

	"Are you okay, Miss Perkins?" Jake asked, a very concerned look
on his face. Chance was half in his seat and half out of it, like he was
waiting to rush out to catch her if she fainted.

	Katareena smiled weakly at them. She knew what she had to do now.
Whether she was really ready for it or not.

	 The door opened and Lieutenant Felina Feral walked through the
door. "I'm going to have to ask you three some questions...seperately."
Jake and Chance got the hint and left. Lt. Feral sat down next to
Katareena. "Do you know who would have wanted to do this?"

	"No," she lied. *She'd* handle this her own way.

	"Are you sure one of the mechanics didn't place it there when
they went under the car?"

	"Of course not! I went to them because I heard a noise. Besides,
neither of them even brought tools under the car with them, let alone a
bomb!"

	"Has something like this ever happened before? Any death
threats?"

	"Never."

	"Who would have access to your car, Miss Perkins?"

	"Anyone who could get into the appartment's subterrainian
garage." She threw her paws up in the air as if the number of kats with
access was half the population of Megakat City.

	Lt. Feral questioned her a while longer before ending the
questioning. "I'll send Jake in, okay?" Katareena said as she wrote her
phone number and address on a sheet of paper from her purse. She got up
and walked outside. "Jake? She wants to talk to you."

	Jake walked over and was about to enter the office when Reena
stopped him. "Thank-you, Jake. It was very brave of you to see if you
could defuse the bomb."

	"I didn't do anything - " Jake protested.

	"You *tried*. Actions speak louder than words, and that act
*screamed* of bravery!" She hugged him and let him go inside.

	"Chance?" 

	"Yes, Miss Perkins?" He said, walking up to her. She smiled up at
him.

	"Call me Katareena. I'm going to leave my car here to get a
tune-up and whatever." She nodded to where the Enforcers were unhooking
her sports car. It crashed down and both Reena and Chance winced. "As you
can see, they didn't take very good care of it."

	"You've got *that* right! That could ruin the shock absorbers!"

	Reena pressed the piece of paper into his paw. "I've got to go
home and lay down. This is my phone number and address. Call me when it's
fixed - no hurry."

	"Do you think it's safe to go home? The bomber is still out
there."

	She hugged him quickly. "You're sweet to be thinking of my
safety, but I'm sure Lt. Feral will insist that some Enforcers go with me
and watch my appartment. Thank-you so much for taking care of me. I'll
see you when I pick up my car."

	Jake came out then. "May I use your phone again," she asked.

	"Help yourself. Chance, you're next." Katareena and Chance walked
inside together.

	"Chance, do you know a good cab company?"

	"That's not nessessary, Miss Perkins. Two of my boys will drive
you home," Lt. Feral said. "Just choose the two who look like they have
nothing to do."
_______________s____________w_____________a____________t____________
	Katareena nearly laughed out loud at the sight the two young
Enforcers made. The way they tried to be macho while they checked her
apartment for intruders was priceless.

	They came up empty of course. The older of the two came up to
her. 

	"Nobody's been here, ma'am. I think we should stay here with you
until this bomber is caught."

	"Why don't you watch down in the lobby? That way you can catch
him before he gets anywhere *near* me!"

	They didn't catch on to the illogic of her suggestion, they had
no idea *what* the bomber looked like. The followed her suggestion like
sheep to the slaughter. Katareena closed and locked the door safely
behind the Enforcers. Then she went to her room and opened the secret
panel in her closet.

	In the closet, her new uniform and weapons were hung in
precession. She dressed quickly. Her flight suit was exactly like that
the SWAT Kats wore, only the colors were reversed. Where there was red in
the SWAT Kats uniform, blue replaced it in hers and vice versa. 

	When she placed the helmet on her masked head, she became Klawz,
her alter ego. Katareena Perkins faded away until only a glimmer was
left. Klawz stood in her place. It was Klawz who chose her weapon, a
glove-a-trex similar to what the SWAT Kats used. It was Klawz who exited
the apartment through the bedroom window. It was Klawz whose eyes
glittered with anger at the bomb Leo had put under Katareena's car.

	On the roof, Klawz tried to get her bearings. The office building
where Leo practically lived wasn't far, but it would be different in how
to get there by roof-top. When she knew where she was going, she began
running. Klawz cleared the space between roof-tops easily. The next
distance wasn't close enough to jump, so she used the glove-a-trex's
grappling hook to get over.

	Five buildings later, she was where she wanted to be. Leo always
worked late, so he would be there alone. The whole top floor was owned by
him, so all she had to do was enter through one of the windows. And she
did. Klawz secured a rope to her waist and to the roof, then jumped.

	Klawz swung through the big plate-glass window and grabbed the
windowsill so her momentum wouldn't swing her back the way she had come.
All the shattered glass went into the room, not onto the street far
below. Quickly, she untied herself and retied the rope to a chair so she
could exit the same way she came in. Then she went in search of the
agent.

	He was on the phone when she found him, oblivious to the loud
noise she had made while entering. Leo yelled into the phone and hung it
up, then began searching through his Rolodex.

	"Leo," Klawz said in a loud, teasing whisper.

	He looked up, startled. He didn't see her in the hall's shadows.
"Who's there?" Klawz stepped into his office so he could see her. Leo
gasped loudly.

	"Your conscience, Leo. Your conscience. Leo...you've been a very
bad kat."

	"What did I do?" He tried to fake innocence, but his fleshy face
wasn't used to it, so he actually looked very afraid.

	"You put a bomb under Katareena Perkins's car. Naughty, naughty."
She slowly walked towards the kat who was already scared out of his wits.

	"What do you want to keep quiet? Katareena can't know!"

	"Trying to bribe me? That doesn't work. I *want* Katareena to
know. You're going to tell her from behind bars. Everyone will know what
you did. You'll go to jail. Do you want to tell them, or should I?"

	"Ten thousand dollars? I can get you money!"

	"No, Leo. You're going to tell the world what you did."

	"I *won't*! Nothing you do or say can make me!"

	Klawz grabbed his shirt collar and lifted the short agent inches
above his seat easily. "Wanna bet?" she growled.
_______________s___________w__________a_____________t_______________
	An hour later, Klawz left the way she'd come. Leo was on the
floor of his office sniveling about how his conscience told him to call
the Enforcers. The operator probably couldn't understand a word of what
he was saying. She was two roof-tops away when cars of Enforcers pulled
up in front of Leo's building. 

	It was dusk. Lights were just starting to go on in Megakat City.
Klawz was on the roof of her apartment. She couldn't bear to change back
yet, so she stayed on top of the roof until the moon was hovering at the
edge of the city.
____________s_____________w_____________a_____________t____________
	Katareena awoke to the sound of furious banging at her door less
than an hour later. Groggily, she pulled a housecoat on and stumbled to
the door. Through the peephole she saw about a dozen armed Enforcers. She
quickly unlocked and pulled open the door. 
	
	The Enforcers streamed past her and throughout the apartment.
They left ten minutes later, but not before one of them explained why
they were there. "We found out who put the bomb under your car."
	
	"Who? Is he in custody?"

	"Yes, he's in custody. It's your agent."

	"My agent! Leo did this?"

	"Yes. We called to tell you, but you didn't answer, so we came to
see if his accomplice had you."

	"I always turn off the ringer before I go to sleep. So his
accomplice is still out there?" She asked, thinking she might have to do
some more searching.

	"Leo gave us two possible locations the accomplice might be. Here
planting another bomb or at his apartment. Don't worry ma'am, we sent
Enforcers to the apartment too. They should have him."

	A phone call two minutes later confirmed the capture. The
Enforcers left after getting her word that she would press charges.
Katareena shut and locked the door behind them, then she dragged herself
back to bed. She was asleep in less that five minutes.
____________s_____________w_____________a_____________t____________
	"Hey, Chance! Come look at this!" They had just finished their
work on Katareena's car. Jake was watching the news while Chance was
making them a snack.

	Chance closed the fridge and walked over to the couch. "What is
it, buddy?"

	"Ann Gora just said they got the two kats who planted the bomb
under Katareena's car."

	Chance punched one fist into the other palm, grinning savagely.
"Darn. I wanted to get them and have a little...chat."

	"Affermative. It's on, let me turn it up."

	"This is Ann Gora, live on the scene with Lt. Feral. Lt. Feral,
who *did* plant the bomb under Katareena Perkins's car?"

	"At approximately two a.m. yesterday morning, a thug named Luter
Gato got a call from Leo Verne, Ms. Perkins's agent. Verne hired Gato to
place the bomb in an area of the car that would have the least chance of
killing or injuring the driver. Less than two hours later, Gato had made
the bomb and was placing it under Ms. Perkins' vehicle."

	"And how did you receive this information?"

	"Six hours ago, Verne had an attack of his conscience. He phoned
in to the police station and told all."

	Ann Gora turned to the camera and triumphantly said, "You heard
it here first! Katareena Perkins's own agent sabotaged her car! Miss
Perkins was driving to a taping of the David Litterbin Show when her car
suddenly started making noises. She pulled into a local garage where two
mechanics discovered the bomb and called the Enforcers."

	Jake turned off the TV. Chance wasn't so accepting of the
situation. He immediately began pacing.

	"I can't believe him! Her career is at its height! There's no way
she's going to be dropping from the spotlight anytime soon! He's her
agent - he should know that!"

	"He's a greedy sleezeball, Chance. He thinks, 'her career's
gotten this high, why don't I push it just a little bit higher?' Then it
gets there and he tries to get even more attention for her, because the
more money she makes, the more money *he* makes."

	"*You* saw where that bomb was! Where that bomb was it would have
blown up the gas tank. That agent of hers didn't even have enough sense
to check out whether or not this guy knew bombs or not!"

	Jake let him rant and rave for a few minutes more before
interrupting. "Chance. Did you want to call and tell her that her car's
ready, or should I?"
_______________s________w__________a___________t____________________
	Katareena struggled out of bed. Slowly, she undressed and took
her shower. When she was dry, she put her hair up in a ponytail, brushed
her teeth, and threw on a pair of old grey sweats. 

	As she flipped through the newspaper, she reflected that it was
mornings like this she wished she drank coffee.

	She was watching the morning news and caught a news broadcast Ann
Gora had made earlier that morning. She noticed they didn't say anything
about the broken office window. The phone rang.

	"Hello?" she asked cautiously, just in case a reporter somehow
found out her phone number.

	"Hello? Miss Perkins?" 

	"T-Bone?" Reena whispered.

	There was a pause. "I'm sorry, Miss Perkins - I didn't quite
catch that. This is Chance Furlong from Megacat Salvage Yard and Garage.
Your car is ready and you can pick it up anytime."

	She took a deep breath from disappointment. "Err...yes, of
course. I'll pick it up in an hour."

	"Sure thing. See you then."
____________s_____________w_____________a_____________t____________
	Chance hung up. It had taken all his willpower not to say he was
T-Bone. For the next hour he hovered between depression for not being
able to talk to her as T-Bone and elation because she had recognized his
voice.

	Exactly an hour later, a cab pulled up. The woman who got out and
paid the cabbie was *definitely* not Katareena Perkins. Her hair was in a
long blonde ponytail. She wore no make-up and grey sweats. On her feet
she wore old running shoes. As she got closer, she smiled he realized he
*wasn't* looking at Katareena, just like he had thought. He was looking
at Reena. *His* Reena not the made-up image that was Katareena Perkins
the actress.

	"Right this way, Miss Perkins."

	Reena gave a little startled laugh and said, "I'm surprised you
recognized me! That cabbie took me all the way from my apartments to here
talking about how worried he was over his 'favorite star, Katareena
Perkins' and never once caught on."

	Chance shrugged not letting her praise affect him, "Hey, *I* knew
you were coming, right?"


Next Book:  Klawz