F&I CH 11


	"You're going to wear a trench in the floor if you keep this up." 
Chance teased good naturedly.
	"I've just got a bad feelin' buddy." Jake said as his brow knit 
together.
	"Come on," he said consolingly, "she hasn't been gone long enough to 
get into any trouble."
	
	"Do you know the penalty for assaulting an enforcer?" the lieutenant 
hissed as he got into the cruiser.
	"Fine and jail term most likely." she shrugged, "I just hope the 
grille or dashboard camera is working properly. I'd hate to have my lawyer's 
evidence be just your word against mine."
	"What are you talking about?" he asked nervously as his driver got 
in and keyed the milke, telling dispatch that they were coming in.
	"Well, that tape will clearly show your use of excessive force and 
conduct unbecomming of an officer." sher plainly stated.
	"Are you an enforcer?" the driver asked as he backed out onto the 
street.
	"I should say yes," she thought with a grin, "but this guy's been 
nice to me so I'll play it straight." and replied, "No hon, I used to belong 
to one. He taught me everything I needed to know."
	The lieutenant smiled evilly. She wasn't really one of them and was 
probably bluffing her way through it all with a bunch of legal buzzwords.
	"And you will pay for this." he thought as he turned in his seat. 
"You will pay dearly."
	
	When they pulled into the precinct, the lieutenant told his driver 
that he'd process her.
 	"I really don't think that's a good idea sir." he scowled. "She's 
all ready broken your nose and threatened you with a lawsuit."
	"All the more reason not to back down." he purred.
	"I think you're letting yourself in for a world of hurt." The 
lieutenant stepped out and jerked her door open.
	"Don't give me any grief, wench."
	"Why?" she sneered as she stuck her legs out the door. "You gonna 
shoot me this time?"
	"Don't tempt me." he growled, grabbing her shoulder and hauling her 
out of the car.
	
	The precinct was bustling with everyday activities. No one gave 
Autumn more than a passing glance as she strolled by. The lieutenant's 
driver grabbed a passing officer and told him to get Feral on the double. He 
gave the driver a quick nod before turning and bolting up a flight of 
stairs. The lieutenant didn't bother making any stops. He went straight to 
the elevators and pushed her inside.
	"What the hell's your problem?" she demanded as the doors closed 
behind them.
	"You!" he snarled, "You have no business being here. You don't 
belong, you'll never fit in, and it would have been better if you'd just 
died in that pod."
	"Jeeze, maybe you should go put your hood and sheet on." she said in
disgust.
	"Maybe I should just kill you now and claim self defense." he said 
as he narrowed his eyes, weighing his options.
	
	Shoving her out as the doors opened, he laughed as he watched her 
fight to retain her balance.
	"One more of those," she hissed, "and you're going to get a size 
ten boot to the head."
	"Tough talk for someone in cuffs." he taunted, slamming her into 
the bars of a crowded holding cell and grabbing the keys off of the wall.
	"Way to go tough guy." a drunken tom slurred, "Gotta beat up a 
female."
	"Hey sunshine." Autumn snarled, as she stepped forward and slammed 
her forehead down on his nose.
	He yowled in pain and backed off a couple of paces, but as Autumn 
advanced to place a kick to the groin, he drew his gun and took aim.
	"You'll have to kill us too you know." came a voice from inside the 
cell. "If you kill her you can't leave any witnesses behind."
	Muttering something blue inder his breath, he slowly made his way to
 the cell door, keeping his weapon trained on Autumn and unlocked it.
	"Just get in there." he snarled, then narrowed his eyes and smiled 
evilly as he added, "Be sure to play nice with your new toy boys."
	"What about the cuffs?" she asked sarcastically.
	"Keep 'em!" he said with a wicked enthusiam as he pushed her inside
and slammed the door.
	Two kats jumped to grab her and make sure she didn't fall. "Thanks 
guys." she said softly and stood upright again. Then with a wicked grin of 
her own, she looked over her shoulder and said, "I hope you don't have any 
plans for retirement pal, 'cause when I get done with your C.O. you'll be 
lucky if you don't get busted down to meter maid or counting tickets."
	"Dream on wench." he sneered as he turned away. "Have fun guys."
	"So what are you in for kit?" one of the guys asked as the flood of 
questions began.

F&I CH 12


	"Commander Feral!" the officer said with a hint of urgency in his 
voice as he knocked once and stepped into the room.
	Feral calmly lookked up and asked what he wanted. "Sir, Goldfinch 
has informed me that he and the Lieutenant have brought in your alien."
	"On what charge?" he asked with a bit of concern.
	"I don't know sir. I just know that he told me to get you on the 
double."
	"Very well," he said as he rose and checked his coat. "I'm on my 
way."
	
	"You know," a cocky looking kat said from one of the corners of the 
cell, "maybe she would be good for a bit of sport."
	Autumn gave him a dirty look and asked if he wanted his nose broken 
too.
	"What are you going to do against all of us?" he sneered.
 	"It won't be all of us."  one tom snarled as he pushed off from the 
wall and took a spot beside her. As the cell began to divide, a very large 
tom that was sitting on a bench by himself finally spoke up.
	"Enough." was all he said. Still, it was enough to break the 
formation. Looking at the spot beside him, he motioned for her to sit down.
	"Seeing as none of these hairballs is kat enough to give up his seat
 to you."
	"Thank you." she kindly replied  while the cut behind her knee 
started to throb.
	Then an amused smile played upon his features as he said, "Kitten, 
you'd best watch who you're mouthing off  to."
	"Yeah," chimed in the guy who'd said she'd be good sport. "I 
woulda' kicked your tail."
	Quite a few prisoners gave him a dirty look, as the big tom 
continued, "The lieutenant can make your life utterly miserable, and it's 
not like you're a native here. You won't afforded the same rights as us."
	As she opened her mouth to answer, they all heard the elevator doors 
open. "If you're lucky that'll be Feral."
	Autumn looked at him quizzically. "He's a pain in the tail boyscout,
but he'll protect you."
	Autumn nodded her understanding as the imposing figure of a dark 
furred kat with piercing gold eyes filled the doorframe of the cell. "Miss 
Silvers." he said professionally as he wondered what screaming idiot put her
in the general population.
	"I am." she answered with equal calm.
	"Please keep your hands where I can see them."
	"Sorry Commander, can't do that." she shrugged.
	Narrowing his eyes a bit as he braced to make a quick draw of his 
side arm, his voice dropped a couple octaves as he asked, "And why is that?"
	"I'm cuffed."
	"What?" he snarled.
	"The lady's cuffed." answered a prisoner.
	Taking a step away from the cell as he drew his weapon, he ordered 
her to stand and turn around. The big kat beside her helped her up and 
turned her. "You and I are going to have to have a long talk about one of 
your lieutenants." she shot over her shoulder.
	"Which one would that be?" he asked reholstering his gun.
	"The one with the broken nose." she scowled.
	"Did he do that too?" he asked as he gave a slight nod to her 
slightly bloody leg.
	"It's why I nailed him." she said simply as as she turned to face 
him. "I don't appreciate being assaulted by a police officer."
	"He have a name?" Feral asked, knowing in the back of his mind what 
the answer would be.
	"Steele," she stated plainly, "the weasle's name is Steele."
	
	"Yeah, she put up quite a struggle." Steele boasted to some 
enforcers in the coffee room. "Feral's nuts if he thinks she's no threat."
	He didn't notice, or perhaps didn't care to, the looks on the 
officer's faces as they wondered exactly how to respond to that.
	
	"Did you find the old woman?" she asked as Feral pocketed the 
cuffs.
	"I haven't received any reports on this incident yet." he said as 
he motioned for her to proceed. "It'll get my full attention when it comes 
in. In the meantime I'm going to take you up to interrogation three so we 
can talk."
	
	"Calico Briggs." she answered distractedly as she tried to think of 
what to write for the mayor's speech.
	"Miss Briggs it's Lieutenant Steele. I just thought you and the 
mayor might want to see this vicious alien before she's shipped off to 
Pumadyne."
	"Pumadyne?" Callie asked, her attention fully engaged.
	"She's clearly a danger and should be studied."
	"What in the world gave you that idea?" she practically screeched.
	"The she-devil broke my nose and attacked me again when I took her 
to the tombs."
	"We'll be there shortly." she said crisply, wondering how she was 
going to trick Manx into this.