The Enforcer Days- Cadet's Night Out
AJ Siytangco

Note: In keeping with the rules, I'm putting this notice.  I mention
some musicians who I enjoy listening to in this installment.  For the
purposes of the story, they also exist in the Swatkat's world as
kats. I'll just leave it up to you, the reader, to conjure up images
of what they might look like!  (Imagine Janet Jackson as a kat.
Meow!)
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	"You have got to snap out of this slump of yours, Callie."
Vanessa told her companion.  "Just look at this place. It's packed
with guys just ripe for the picking."
	Callie sipped her drink, a glass of Bailey's Irish Cream.  She
turned away from the bar to survey the place they were in.  It was a
fairly large club called simply "Coctails on Megaway 12", which was
where it was located.  The drinks were good and at reasonable prices,
and the owner, who also worked as the bartender, seemed like a decent
fellow.  He kept the place clean amidst the nightly barrage of
customers he gets.  The lighting was low, and in a reddinsh-orange
tone.  Individual conversations and laughter could be heard above the
loud music emmanating from the antique jukebox at the back.  True,
there were plenty of good looking kats, some of which appeared to be
alone.  "Why'd you pick this place anyway?  It's so far from the city
limits."
	"That's just it.  It's close to the Enforcer training base, where
all the good looking guys are."
	"You're hopeless, Vanessa."
	"Am I the one who's depressed?"
	Callie heaved a sigh.  She had a point.  Being part of Mayor
Manx's support staff had taken a lot out of her.  Especially that
witch of a Deputy Mayor, Mrs. Gail.  Callie had only been ten minutes
late and Ms. Gail pounced on her as if she had cost her the world.
Then she couldn't seem to do anything right the whole day.  It was
humiliating, especially for one with a Political Science Degree from
Megakat U.
	"Forget about that dragon lady, Cal." Vanessa said, knowing full
well what her friend was thinkng about.  She and Callie had been
friends all their college lives, even though they had different
majors, Ness having finished Interdisciplinary Studies. Though she
and Callie had seen their fair share of suitors, neither of them had
been able to hold down a steady relationship.
	She looked around again and settled her eyes on the door as a
large group of kats came in.  There were some she-kats but most of
them were guys.  They seemed to be in a rambunctious mood, laughing
and making a lot of noise.  They gravitated toward the back seats,
and slowly the began to fill up the tables there.
	Vanessa whispered in Callie's ear, "Brace yourself, Callie.  Our
ship has come in."
	Callie smiled.  She had to admire her friends spirit.  Vanessa
had been trying to get a relationship going for months now. It wasn't
that Vanessa wasn't good-looking.  Her heart-shaped face, her smooth
white fur had been her main attractions in Collage.  Callie watched
as her friend made her way to the lady's room, probably to beautify
herself even further.  Whether what hepened next was intentional or
not Callie couldn't tell. Vanessa ran into one of the kats from the
group and dropped her clutchbag.  
	"Sorry" Callie faintly heard the kat say.  Callie couldn't hear
the rest. 
	"It's okay." Vanessa smiled at the kat reassuringly.  "So, you
guys cadets from the base?" She continued.
	"Yeah.  We're just out for a night."  Ralph turned to catch up
with the rest of the group when Vanessa subtly drew him back.
	"What's the rush?  You can leave your Enforcer buddies for a
while can't you?" She said.
	The kat looked at her and smiled.  Vanessa couldn't read that
smile he gave her.  It wasn't an "okay, I'll catch up with them
later" smile nor did it say, "No thanks."  It was something else.  It
was, Vanessa thought, more of... undersanding, no... flattery.  The
kat held up his right hand and clicked two of his fingers together.
Vanessa saw what was there and smiled back.
	"I'm sorry..." She felt like an idiot.
	"No problem." The kat said, lowering his hand.  He turned to
leave then paused and faced Vanessa again, slowly walking backwards.
"Thanks anyway. I'm flattered.  You're young, pretty.  Good luck."
He then squeezed through the crowd towards the table.  
	Vanessa sat at the bar beside Callie, her head low, but a slight
smile on her face.  "That struck out." She said plainly.
	"What happened?" Callie wanted to know, "I couldn't hear you with
all the ruckous.  Well?" She was anxious about these things.
	"He was married!" Vanessa said in a tone of defeat, her posture
indicating failure.  She picked up the drink she had left and sipped
at it.  She giggled to herself.  It was the first time that ever
happened to her.  Callie was giggling too.


	"Who was that, Ralph?" Chance asked as Ralph came to sit at their
table.  Chance moved to make space for him.  There were about six of
them sitting already, while the others were just standing or leaning
on one thing or another.  A waiter came to take their orders.
	"Just a beer." Ralph said.  Jake may have offered to pay for
tonight, bet he didn't want to abuse his friends generosity with
expensive drinks.
	"Same here!" Came from most of the kats.  Paul had a glass of
milk, Mianda some Vodka tonic, while Jake and Chance both had
screwdrivers.  The waiter left and Chance repeated his query.
	"Just a young she-kat looking to make a friend or two."
	"Well do you think she has room for one more friend in her life?"
Chance asked joyously.  He had gotten a good glimps of the girl that
intercepted Raplh, and decided that she was more than just
attractive. He nudged Ralph with his elbow and they all burst out in
laughter.  "You sly kat, you."
	"I'm a married kat, thats what I am!"
	"I'm not married!" cried Ralph's RIO.  Howling laughter filled
their table.  In point of fact, Ralph was the only kat present to
have tied the knot.
	"What are we?" Asked one of the she-kats in their group,
"Yesterday's tuna fish?"  She tried to look and sound enraged, and
ended up making everybody laugh again.
	"You're appreciated just fine." Tailor said.
	"Here, here.  Where would we all be if we didn't have any femme
fetales, eh?" Jake commented, 
	"Where would they be without us guys?" Chance answered Jake's
question with one of his own.
	"In a much better place, I can tell you that!" exclaimed Miranda,
to everyone's laughter. Those standing could barely stay upright.
Such was their mood that almost evry little thing elicited giggles
and snickers and laughs from the group.  The rest of the kats in the
club it seemed, were regulars, and were used to the boisterous nature
of visiting Enforcer cadets.  A while later the waiter returned with
one other to bring them their drinks.  "What do we toast to?" Miranda
raised her glass half way.
	"How about to our femme fatales and a better world?" Paul
suggested, putting his arm around Miranda who was sitting beside him.
	"How about to graduating?"  Ralph said.  They all agreed and
raised their glasses.  "To graduating!" His sentiments were echoed by
the group as they clinked their glasses and bottles together in a
toast. Then, they drank.
	The toast over, Will Tailor made his way to the jukebox to look
for an old song he liked.  Once there he looked thru the selection.
It had quite a large range of songs, some of which not so old.  The
owner must've replaced some worn out or not-so-nice songs with new
ones.  He saw songs by Aerosmith, The Little River Band, Phil
Collins, The Police, Meatloaf, Counting Crows, Joe Jackson, Rupert
Holmes and Janet Jackson among others, but not one song by Tears for
Fears.  And he really wanted to hear 'Everybody Wants to Rule The
World.'
	"Nevermind." He said to himself. "I guess I'll just have to
settle for 'King Of Pain.'"  He placed his coin and made his
selection.  He leaned on the jukebox, looking around while waiting
for the song.  He saw a new bunch of kats come in.  Will couldn't
make out their faces from that far away, but their posture and the
tattered denim and leather clothes they wore seemed familiar to him.
The song started but he was barely aware of it.  As they came closer,
he began to see the features on their faces.  
	The first one, the one in front was a large kat, in size possibly
Chance's equal.  He had a square jaw and a rough face to go with his
muscular torso.  The rest all seemed like stick figures next to him.  


	"This doesn't look so good." The bartender mumbled under his
breath.  He kept an eye on the newcommers as he wiped his bar.
	"Why do you say that?" Callie asked, though a look at the leather
and denim clad kats answered her question.  It was a gang.  Not one
she'd ever encountered, but it seemed the bartender had.
	"They're a no good bunch." he answered.  "I've seen the likes of
them a hundred times before, but these are among to worst.  This
particular gang's been here only twice before, and I've had to make
'em leave both times."  He straightened himself as the large one came
up to the bar.
	"Hiya, gramps." He said, propping himself on the seat next to
Callie's  To her he said, "Hiya, sweetcakes." 
	"Come on, Basher.  Stop harassing paying customers."  The
bartender told him firmly.  The one called Basher and his companions
laughed at him coldly.
	"Payin' customers?  You mean these kats actually pay for the poor
booze in this place?"  Basher slammed his fist down on the wooden
bar, making Callie and Vanessa jerk away. His companions laughed some
more. The owner didn't flinch, he stood his ground. Basher grinned,
"We'll don't expect any cash from us gramps, just hand over a round
o' beers and we'll be on our way."
	"Lighten up, Basher." Came a new voice from behind them.  "I'd
have thought you guys would all be in lock-up by now."
	Vanessa recognized the new arrival as one of the Enforcer cadets
and felt a bit of relief.  Her relief turned to shock and horror as
Basher grabbed the hand of the kat and, laughing, patted him on the
back with his other.  "How're ya doin, Willie?" His voice was loud.
	"I'm with the Enforcers now." 
	The kats in the gang looked as if they choked.
	"Those over there are my unit.  So come on, Bash.  What say we
just enjoy the music?"
	Bash seemed to actually consider that proposition.  He looked at
his gang then at Willie.  Callie and Vanessa took the opportunity to
leave the bar.  "Ya know, Willie.  I've been itchin' ta take a swipe
at ya since ya ditched the gang.  But I was ready ta take ya back."
He paused a while.  "But after this, you bein' in the Enforcers an
all... I'd have ta say... no." His massive fist collided with
Willie's face with a bone-crushing sound.
	Willie picked himself up from the floor to see Basher's fist
crashing down on him.  This time he moved out of the way and planted
his own fist in Basher's midsection.  By now the owner had moved out
of the bar and was hollering for them to take it outside.


	Back at the table the cadet's carried on with their merry-making,
oblivious of their friends predicament.  The giggling died down
slghtly when two she-kats, a blonde and a white-furred one, came up
to them.  "Hi." The white one said to Ralph.  "Sorry to bother you,
but I think your friend needs a bit of help over there." She pointed
in the direction of the bar.


	"Your gonna get it now, Willie..." Basher threatened the limp kat
in his hands.  One of his gang was out like a light, courtesy of
Tailor's uppercut.  The others were backing Basher up and keeping the
owner at bay.  The kats at the near by tables had moved away at by
then, which made more room for the semmingly immenent brawl. "This is
fer ditchin' the gang, ya little scardeykat."
	"That may be." A commanding voice surprised Basher for the second
time tonight.  "But he's our little scardeykat.  Whatever else he is,
he's one of us now.  Let him go."  Basher saw a kat as large as he
was and literaly dozens of other kats behind him, all of which looked
ready to throw down with him and his gang.  He also spied the two
she-kats who were at the bar with them.  His companions slowly let go
of the owner who quickly made his way beside Callie.
	"You heard him." He said, "Get out now, and stay out."
	Basher considered it.  He had seven kats with him, against over
two dozen others.  He should have left, but his pride wouldn't let
him.  That and  the only real danger he saw was the large one.  Take
him out, he thought, and the rest'll fall.  He let go of Tailor and
took a swing at Chance.  
	Chance saw it coming and ducked.  "You shouldn't have done that."
He said.  A split-second after saying those words he rammed a fierce
right cross into Bahser, then a left hook.  By the time it was over,
Basher was seeing little kittens with wings orbiting his head.  His
companions put up their paws in a gesture of peace.  They inched
backwards, dragging Basher's unconcius frame outside.  Willie got up,
massaging his nose.
	Thankful for the save and eager to keep them on hand as long as
possible, the owner let them have their drinks on the house.  Callie
and Vanessa had left, having had enough excitment for one night.
Back at the table the mood was again merry, but this time not all of
them were laughing hard.
	"Who were those goons?" Paul asked Willie.  Tailor had an ice
pack over his black eye and was drinking a coke.  He said that he
just thought he'd help the two ladies and things got out of hand.
	"That's crud." Chacne said strongly.  "That guy called you by
your first name."
	Realizing that he couldn't keep his secret from these kats,
William Tailor confessed.  "You know why I joined the Enforcers?  Not
for money, or respect or adventure or any of that.  I joined because
my father wanted me to."
	Everyone listened intently on what he had to say.
	Tailor continued, "Not for tradition like you, Paul.  But because
I was crazy enough to want to prove that I could do something good
for once in my life.  I ran with Basher's gang for about a year.  I
admit that, and I'm not proud of that part of my life.  But I'm
supposed to inherit everything from my dad, and he would never let a
black kat run his business."
	"So you set out to prove to him that you aren't so bad by joining
the Enforcers." Miranda continued for him.
	"Right." Tailor said weakly. "Thanks of the save, guys." 
	"And gals!" Miranda blurted and everyone started laughing again.
They enjoyed the rest of the night  with their free drinks.  When the
time came they packed up, thanked the owner and headed back to the
base they now called home.  Since then, Cocktails on Megaway 12
became a faorite hangout for the cadets, and they returned each time
they were given some down time.