This Criminal’s Life
By: David Noble
dnoble49@hotmail.com


Thanks to Crash Furley (Clawson) and Adam for letting me use him. Thanks also
to Jennifer Munoz, Kristen Sharpe, and Felicia McFurry for their ideas. I liked the
idea of Hard Drive wanting revenge on the enforcers. Diego Cortez is the
character from my Kari Gilmore based stories. If you want to use him, let me
know. Thanks.

----------------------------------

     During one June afternoon, Chance’s younger brother, Michael, and his
friend Adam went cruising on a highway along the Megakat beach in Adam’s
Geo Metro. Michael brought along some computer discs. 

     “Are you sure Chance is gonna let you download site programs on his
computer?” Adam asked.

     “I don’t think it’ll bother him too much. It’ll just be at least two or
three files, that’s all,” Michael replied. Adam brought along his bass guitar.
“How’s the band coming along?”

     “Pretty good. Crash, the boys, and me are going to play in South Dakota in
a week, so I’ll need to practice or Crash will kill me. What are you doing with
your life, mate?”

     “Well right now, I’m getting my university football scholarship,” Michael
responded.

     “Oh. Are you a good player?”

     “Yeah, I’ve helped many players on the team make the touchdown. I’ve
been offered a promotion to be team captain.”

     “Awesome! Hope you enjoy it!” Adam said, patting Michael on the back. 

     They reached the salvage yard. Michael knocked at the door and Jake
answered it.

     “Hi, where’s Chance?” Michael asked. 

     Jake went into the garage where he found Chance inspecting the exhaust
system and shield of a customer’s auto.

     “Chance, I think you’ve got someone here to meet you,” he said. 

     Chance got up and walked over to the front door. He limped a bit, due to
the laceration from the last fight. He gave Michael a big noogie on the head.

     “Good to see you, little brother. What are you doing here?” 

     Michael brushed off his head.  “Just wanted to visit and use your computer
to download some files. It won’t be long.”

     “Oh alight, but remember that computer’s meant for business, not
pleasure purposes. Last time Jake downloaded some David Litterbin sites, the
system was jacked up. Feral almost had our heads,” Chance said, pointing his
finger at Michael. 

     Michael nodded and got on the Internet. 

     “Where’s my brother, Crash? Is he still busy practicing?” Jake asked
Adam.

     “Yeah. He wanted to come, though,” Adam answered. 

     Tipo was tied up, building a new table and four chairs for the kitchen.
“Who’s that?” Adam asked.

     “He’s a new friend of ours.” Jake answered. 

     Tipo looked up at Adam and waved. Adam returned the gesture and turned
back to Jake. 

     “Nice guy. Hey, is it ok if I practice here?” Adam asked, going to get his
guitar. 

     “Sure. We could use a little music around here,” Jake said. 

     Adam hooked up his instrument to a portable speaker and started
strumming. Jake covered his ears due to the high voltage. Adam turned the level
down.

     “Sorry, mate.” 

     “No problem. I like guitar music too, but not that loud,” Jake said. 

     Tipo didn’t mind it too much, for he also liked rock music. 

*********
     
     Hard Drive was digging at the metallurgical company in a bulldozer. He
pondered on how to escape safely with the Enforcer files. “Those SWAT Kats
have jumped into all of my plans! My coat has always helped me out of trouble,
but there must be another way.”

     He recalled the days when he was in the Enforcers. His name was Harry
and he was a guard in charge of the file protection at Top Secret. He had many
friends, who switched posts with him. However, he wasn’t being paid a decent
salary, so he looked to see that no other kat was looking. 

     Officer Saden and another rookie stopped by.

     “Want to switch posts there, son? It’s this rookie’s turn now,” Saden
said. 

     “About in one hour, sir,” Harry quickly responded. 
     
     As they left, Harry took out a floppy and inserted it, and copied the files. 

     His friends have been noticing the files missing and that Harry was in the
storage room most of the time, so they suspected him. Two of them stood by the
doorway one evening. Seeing that Harry was making another copy of the defense
secrets, they reported it to Feral. At the same night, Feral came over to Harry and
seized him on the shoulder.

     “Excuse me, young man, but I believe your partners had the right suspicion
about you and your little game! I want you to bring back the secrets you’ve
saved and pack your bags. I don’t want you working on my guard squad again!”
The history of being snitched set fires of hatred in Hard Drive’s heart and mind.

     “If those creeps betrayed me, then I’ll play double with them!” 

     After work, he drove by the airfield, parked, and carried his briefcase. He
suited up and carried himself through the cables, over to Top Secret. Hard Drive
made sure that the guards were gone and sucked out as many weapon files from
the program as possible. He heard footsteps running toward the room. “Shoot!”
he said, sharply. 

     The guards rushed in and saw Hard Drive. He recognized them as his past
friends who told on him. “Hold it right there, Hard Drive! Let’s go!” They
pointed their bazookas at him.

     “Sorry guys. No time for a friendly reunion,” Hard Drive replied. He sent a
jolt of electricity, which knocked the guards out. Then he escaped through an open
socket. Saden came in and woke one of the officers up. 

     “Hey, wake up! What happened here?” he asked. 

     The officer felt his forehead and pulled himself up. “Hard Drive came back
and stole the files again. I recognized him by his voice as Harry, the Enforcer who
got kicked off.” 

     Saden was nervous and notified Feral.

*********

     Michael and Adam were on their way home. Michael sorted out his
computer discs. Hard Drive happened to be traveling along Adam’s trail. He
noticed the discs that Michael was holding. “Ah. Just what I need to keep these
files safe,” he said. 

     Adam and Michael stopped at the beach for a while. Hard Drive landed a
stolen Enforcer jet beside the car. He sneaked up behind Michael and wrapped his
arm around his neck. “Alright, Junior, I’ve got some business with you! Get into
the cockpit!” Hard Drive ordered and snatched Michael’s discs.

     “Adam! Adam, help me!” Michael cried. Adam came running, with an
automatic pistol in his paw.

     “Alright, butthole, let my buddy go! Michael has nothing to do with your
scheme,” Adam said crossly.

     “No, but he has something that will help my scheme. Put your weapon
down and nothing will go wrong,” Hard Drive answered back and dragged
Michael toward the jet. 

     “Adam, call Chance and Jake!” Michael shouted. Hard Drive elbowed him
in the stomach.

     “Keep quiet! Come with me!” Adam shot Hard Drive in the leg. “Damn
you, jerk!” he screamed in pain.

     “I tried to warn you!” Adam yelled. Michael turned, kicked the discs out
of Hard Drive’s pocket and knelt down to pick them up.

     “Michael no! The hell with the discs, get away from him!” Adam cried,
running to him. Hard Drive touched the two toms with his forefingers. They fell
unconscious and Hard Drive dragged them by their shirts. He tied their paws in
front of them and their feet and loaded them in the cockpit. 
     
     “Looks like I’ve got two kats for ransom,” Hard Drive proudly said.

     Then Feral swung by and saw the event. “Harry, unhand those boys and
give back the files! You’re under arrest!” he commanded.

     “Harry? How does he know my name?” Hard Drive thought as he jumped
in his seat and took off. “You want them? Come and get them!” He hit one of
Feral’s laser cannons and sped off. Feral growled and charged after him.

     “Enforcers, move in! Fire at will!” he bellowed. Those pilots who were his
friends came up close to him.

     “Harry, Harry! Don’t do this! Surrender yourself and everything will be
ok,” they said.

     “Don’t get friendly with him, men! Disable him!” Feral said fiercely. He
was afraid that the Enforcers might be deceived and give in. He was even more
scared that their blind sympathy for him might make an overriding demand of
letting Hard Drive go.

     “Sorry guys, but I think it’s too late. Here I am now, a full criminal and
you, Enforcers of law and order,” Hard Drive announced. He carried too many
grudges against his friends for reporting him. He had a right to support himself, but
he tried to do it the wrong way. His friends felt wrongly accused and then were
angry and went chasing after him again.

     “If this is how he wants to be, so be it!” they thought as they continued in
air-to-air combat. They fired into Hard Drive’s turbofans and the air compressor
was pierced. The craft lost part of it’s thrust and slowly plunged on ground.

     Hard Drive got out, dragging the two tomkats and headed down to his
warehouse. T-Bone and Razor hopped out of the Turbokat and went after Hard
Drive. “Let them go, Hard Drive! You got what you want,” Razor said, advancing
carefully. 

     “I will, after I get my money!” Hard Drive retorted.

     “No, Hard Drive. Have the Enforcers pay you want ever sum you want,”
T-Bone said. Feral closed his paw into a fist as he heard this from the chopper he
was still flying. 

     “I’ll kill that vigilante for making that kind of bet without asking me
first!” he growled. Hard Drive became interested in the starting offer.

     “If you give up the boys and the files right now,” T-Bone finished. Hard
Drive was a hard bargainer. He shook his head and prepared to electrocute
Michael and Adam.

     “First, I want to see twelve grand, then I’ll give back the boys and the
files. I don’t want to have to spoil this offer,” Hard Drive snickered. Static ran
through his suit and the boys yelled out and struggled to break free.

     “Alright that’s enough, lighting-tail! We’ll give you what you ask!”
T-Bone shouted, charging at him. Hard Drive sent off a ray of light that knocked
T-Bone out. Hard Drive chuckled and dragged the boys into the warehouse.

     Razor shook T-Bone. “Come on, pal! Speak to me!” Razor lightly slapped
T-Bone across the face and helped him up.

     “What happened, buddy?” he asked.

     “You almost were fried katnip. Thank God you’re still alive. Well, we
need to wait for Feral to sum up twelve thousand dollars to pay Hard Drive,”
Razor explained. Feral landed his chopper and grabbed Razor by the left arm. 

     “I’m already eating away plenty of grand repairing what you SWAT Kats
destroy!” Feral shouted, squeezing Razor’s arm. 

     “Ow! Commander, don’t tear my arm off, for crying out loud! It’s for
your precious files and the two innocents. We’re doing this for you, you know!”
Razor slapped Feral’s paw off and went over to T-Bone.

     “I suppose you two are helping Megakat City, but next time you want to
make a crazy bet like that, ask me first!” Feral ordered, poking T-Bone in the
chest.

     “Don’t get heavy, Feral! We can go back on our offer and let him sell
your secrets,” T-Bone said, roughly. 

     “Let him go, buddy. We’ll wait until he gets the dough,” Razor said,
pulling T-Bone by the arm. 

     “Now I know I’m talking to vigilantes,” Feral mumbled and got back into
his chopper. Some of Hard Drive’s old friends rode up to Feral. They wanted
Hard Drive to not feel resentful, even though they knew he was violating Enforcer
property. 

     “Sir, let us deal with Hard Drive. We understand him a little more than
you,” one of them said.

     “We can persuade him out of this offer with Mayor Manx’s help,”
another added.

     “Stay out of this, men! I don’t need Mayor Manx’s help! Hard Drive’s
tried selling the defense data more than you think. He’s a foe, not a friend! Now
stay close, and don’t act up against my orders! I’m not paying that creep one
cent.” 

     “Yes sir!” The Enforcers did not share the same feelings Feral did. They
wanted to try to capture Hard Drive, yet to get him to give up his worldly ways
without bloodshed or violence. Unfortunately, violence was a big thing in the city
and violence was repaid with violence, but they would try.

*********

     At a Megakat prison cell, a black-market salesman named Diego Cortez
was watching the TV with the news report concerning Hard Drive. “Hm. Maybe if
I could make a bet with him and hold those kittens for ransom, perhaps part of the
money will go to me,” the clever tomkat thought. 

     Just then a prison guard came in. “Get up, you sneak! Ready to meet your
case!”

     “Yeah.” Diego said. “Oh, and send my love to the jury.” Diego grabbed
the guard and flung his head against the steel bars. He fell unconscious and Diego
grabbed his keys and his 9-mm revolver. He snuck past the officers and ran out to
find the shack where Hard Drive was hiding. 

*********

     T-Bone and Razor watched the news report on their big screen in the
hangar, while they repaired their Glovatrixes. “The black-market salesman known
as Diego Cortez has escaped from prison and robbed east city bank. The Enforcers
are secretly following him down to where we left Hard Drive. We hope that the
criminals will accept the ransom that Feral is reluctantly giving and the two young
kats will be released. This is Ann Gora, Kat’s Eye News.”

     “That’s the crazy archeologist who stole the Egyptian artifacts that while
back!” T-Bone exclaimed excitedly.

     “We’d better get going! Hope these Glovatrixes can work well enough,”
Razor said. Tipo changed into Phurranha and joined the SWAT Kats.

     “I’m ready to save some tails too!” he said.

     “Well, this isn’t an ocean crime, Phurranha, so we’ve better leave your
submarine here,” T-Bone said. Phurranha took his staff and 50-mm Berretta and
joined the two.

*********

     As Hard Drive was loading up the files on Michael’s discs, he heard a
knock on the door. “Who is it?” he demanded.

     “It’s me, Diego, your trusted salesman,” Diego answered. He came in
and saw the two boys in the center. “Two innocent kittens,” Diego sarcastically
commented.

     “Yes. I’m holding them for ransom until the Enforcers come. Well, it’s
good you managed to escape. I have some files I’d like you to purchase.”

     “On the contrary, Hard Drive, I’ve come to help collect what the
Enforcers are giving.” Hard Drive was shocked and grabbed Diego by the shirt.

     “Wait one moment, mister! I didn’t intend on sharing the bet with you! It
was made only for me! Get out of here,” Hard Drive shouted, preparing to put
some static into Diego’s veins. Diego seized Hard Drive by the wrist and flung
him over.

     “What kind of greeting is this? I wanted to come here to offer my
partnership in helping you escape.” Hard Drive grabbed Diego by the neck with
lightning volts streaming through his body. His tail lashed with impatience.

     “What kind of bet are you getting at?!" he demanded. "And, it had better
be good!” Diego became fearful for his nine lives and became reasonable.

     “Listen, you may collect the sum I’ve robbed for you. I can work for you
in getting whatever you need. Only let me have part of the bet you made this
afternoon and I’ll ask no more,” Diego pleaded. Hard Drive grinned.

     “Well, you were known to be a sneaky and successful thief! Alright then.”
While they were talking, Adam extended his claw nails and cut the ropes of him
and his friend. Adam cautioned Michael to be very quiet.

     Hard Drive turned and saw them running toward the door. “Ah oh,
they’re getting away!” he shouted.

     “We’ll see about that!” Diego said and shot at the fleeing toms. “You
boys aren’t going anywhere for a while,” he said. Michael kicked the revolver out
of Diego’s paw. 

     Adam was impressed to see Michael’s stroke. “Nice kick. I think you’ll
make the scholarship,” he said.

     “Thanks,” Michael replied. Hard Drive seized Michael by the collar. Diego
picked up his gun and grabbed Adam by neck.

     “Shall I finish these boys off?” Diego asked.

     “You take care off the big one. I’ll get rid of this brat!” 

     Adam growled. “Watch who you’re calling brat, surge-phsyco!” He
charged at Hard Drive and knocked him on his back. 

     “Thanks, Adam,” Michael said.

     “No problem.” Diego pulled the trigger of the gun and shot Adam in the
right arm. Adam shouted in pain. Suddenly the door burst open after the locks had
been blasted. T-Bone and Razor ran in with the Enforcers.

     “Hey, you stinking sons of lowlifes, I thought we made a deal that there
would be no harm done!” T-Bone hollered. Michael had his paw on Adam’s
bleeding arm. Razor pushed them in back of him.

     “Stay back you two! Phurranha, take care of them for me,” he said.
Phurranha came and took the boys back to Turbokat.

     “I lied! Diego, shoot them!”

     “My pleasure! I believe I had a score with you, little jerk!” Diego said to
Razor. Razor released his whip from the Glovatrix that slapped the gun again from
Diego’s paw.

     “Didn’t your mother tell you never to play with guns?” Razor said
sarcastically. Diego pounced on Razor, pinning him on his back. Razor gave Diego
one in the lower jaw. Then the Enforcers grabbed Diego and cuffed him.

     Meanwhile, T-Bone was fighting Hard Drive. He tried desperately to grab
the coat from him. Hard Drive burned T-Bone’s paw. “My voltage is too great
for your muscles, SWAT Kat!” T-Bone became enraged.

     “I always believed every foe had an Achilles’ heel! Let’s find out.”
T-Bone grabbed off his surge-coat and Harry fell on his knees. He got up and tried
to snatch the coat back and T-Bone swiped him aside. The Enforcers ran up to
Harry as Razor took the coat and gave to the officers.

     “I’m sorry Harry, but business is business,” one of his friends said sadly.
Harry was cuffed and led away. 

*********

     Back at the beach, Adam's arm still hurt from the bullet wound, but was
grateful to Phurranha for stitching it up. Michael put his paw on his shoulder.

     “You were brave, buddy. Thanks for helping us try to escape,” Michael
said. Adam patted him on the back.

     “Thank you for saving those files. We stayed in one place and out of more
dangerous places.” Chance walked up to Michael and shook his paw.

     “Thanks for coming to see us. Neither of you two be a stranger. Hope you
can bring Crash along next time,” Chance said. Jake walked over to Adam.

     “You sure got a wound there, partner. I think you’d better let me drive
you home. I’m dying to see my brother Crash, anyway,” Jake said. 

     “Yeah. I can’t wait to tell him about the adventure we had,” Adam
added.

     “Sure. Listen, you’d better lay off the guitar for awhile.” 

     “Crash will not be too happy,” Adam groaned. Jake patted him on the
back.

     “It’s just until the ligaments and fur tissues reattach themselves.” Adam
and Michael got in the car and Jake drove it. Chance waved good bye. 

     “I’ll pick you up later tonight, Jake,” he called. Jake waved in
acceptance.

*********

     Meanwhile, Harry’s old friends felt bad about arresting someone who was
once an old friend now a criminal. While they were on airborne patrol duty, they
were discussing their prior friendship with Harry. “I wish Harry would change
back into his old self. Ah, those times,” one of them sighed.

     “Yeah. Well, Saden says Megakat City is full of criminals who were once
Enforcers or good citizens. We tried to be nice to him, but we failed. He’s a
villain and I think he’ll stay a villain,” another said.

     “Too bad we can’t stop them with kindness. I hate seeing a friend turn to
crime,” a third co-pilot said. 

     “That’s a criminal’s life, partner. But the SWAT Kats are an
exception,” the first one said. They all chuckled and continued their patrol watch.

THE END