A Tail of Two Sisters by Chella Reaves Detective Natalie McFurr pulled the collar of her trench coat up around her neck, a few white puffs of her breath escaping her lips. Though Megakat City wasn't known for it's forgiving winters, she couldn't risk turning on the unmarked car she sat in to run the heater or even to close the windows completely. It was supposed to be an abandoned and *empty* car parked outside the warehouse by the Megakat City Dockyards and fogged windows wouldn't jive with the impression she was trying to give the causal observer. Natalie allowed herself the luxury of one last shiver in the relative comfort of the car before silently getting out of the vehicle. Apparently her back-up wasn't going to show. She went ahead and started to break the Golden Rule of never investigating a potential crime scene without back-up...for the hundredth time. Where she came from you went out and got what you wanted when you wanted it, whatever the cost. And if finally doing some type of damage to this new crime ring cost her her life, then so be it. She readied her regulation gun and started making her way to the one door in the whole warehouse that didn't squeak, using only the shadows as cover. After Natatalie had shut the door and tip-toed her way to a good spot behind some stacked crates, she took the time to listen. Voices came from a spot that was in the center of the warehouse. She shifted so she could see the spot that was illuminated like a high school play; the characters in the 'play' were just as melodramatic as the lighting. A small frail looking blonde she-kat with white fur and a white dress sat on an over-turned crate laughing girlishly as a short and dark kat clutched at her and greedily ran his paws over her. Nora...last name as yet undiscovered, the only one who could have given it - dead. Known for systematically taking over the dockside gangs, using the already installed members of the gangs as an extension of the gang she ran. The kat was Contract Kougur, one of the biggest and baddest gangsters in Megakat's underworld. He got his name for his love of contracts. He had contracts for almost every thing he did. He once forced a restaurant owner to sign one promising that his milk was fresh. Nora giggled and pushed him away. "Do stop, Abner! We have to talk about what I called you here for!" Natalie thought, grinning widely and having a hard time not blowing her cover by snickering. The gangster looked around and glared at her. "How many times do I have to tell you, Sweet Cheeks, *never* call me Abner!" Natalie lost her humor. Nora, the she-kat with the soft voice and even softer smile wasn't sweet. Of all the gangsters in Megakat City, 'Sweet Nora' was probably the biggest shark of them all. Abner had better watch himself. "You mean," he continued as he ran a paw down her bare arm, "this isn't it?" Nora's angelic smile hardened for a second and she motioned for him to sit, pulling a piece of paper and a pen seemingly from thin air. Natalie really started getting worried for poor Abner now. If her back-up didn't show soon... But she still couldn't do anything, she hadn't seen so much as a whisker of any of the two's 'associates'. "What's dat?" good ol' Abner asked, taking the pen and paper automatically and reading. It was second nature. 'Sweet Nora' walked behind Kougur and slid her paws around his neck. "You are going to sign over your business to me," she almost purred. Contract Kougur guffawed. "Geez that's a hoot, Nora! Really, what's this fo-" He broke off, choking. The she-kat ruthlessly cut off his air, her eyes staring across the warehouse unfocused. It was the most disturbing sight Natalie had ever seen, and she'd seen many fur-raising scenes. Just when Natalie decided she had to do*something*, Nora released her victim. Kougar gasped and pulled lungfuls of air from the room. "Boys!" he croaked, rubbing his paws against his throat. Nora threw back her head and laughed maliciously. Natalie's fur stood on end. "Dah-ling, this *is* what you are here for. Sign it over and I'll even lend my boys to help you pack for your extended vacation." "Boys!" The kat looked around frantically for his bodyguards. "They're dead. You're alone..." She circled him, movements that had probably excited him minutes before now apparently scared him, if the sweat running down his cheeks was any indication. "Be a dear and sign the contract. I wouldn't want my boys to have to work up a sweat...." She let the threat hang in the charged air as she moved off a few feet. Again, Natalie wondered where her back-up was. Contract Kougur might be sleaze, but she still had the duty to protect him. "Fine!" Kougur grabbed the contract and the pen and signed. "It's yours." He looked around slyly, apparently not seeing her goons either. "Hate to sign and run..." The kat reached into his dinner jacket and fished around. "Looking for this, Abner?" Nora asked silkily as she aimed and fired. Contract Kougur had just enough time to glance up and receive the bullet directly between his eyes before he fell over. Nora made a small sound of distress before she sailed over to the contract and picked it up before it was stained by Abner's blood. The female made a little sigh of relief before she went over to her purse that was on a crate and pulled a compact from it. As unconcerned or remorseful as one would feel about killing a bug, she powdered her nose. "Cliff, Heath, come clean up this mess," she called gaily. Two brutes detached themselves from the walls in the shadows and held cans of gas, which they started pouring all over. Natalie had to do something now to prevent herself from being discovered at the very least. She started to creep towards the door she had entered though. She could see the dull glow from the street lights where her exit was. Almost home-free, she decided to sprint for the last few feet. Her mistake, which she had barely enough time to realize that it was before a kat barreled into her and knocked her into a tall stack of crates. Natalie fought as well as she could though all the layers of her clothes and the sheer muscle of her attacker hampered her success. Her gun was knocked from her grip to her sheer horror and she reached for it with one paw as she used the rest of her body to defend herself. A million thoughts ran though her mind, about how she had much more to do before she died, and how stupid she was for not waiting for back-up, and how she regretted never finding some kat to share her life with, or even a few months of her life with. Again she felt her head knocked against the crates and this time, they teetered for one second before coming crashing down upon her. She watched it all in slow-motion, throwing her head to one side at the last possible second and praying she survived.