ONE BOMB TOO MANY
Chapter 2
EDIT: This has been corrected and reposted, thanks to the help of Ulyferal
"Why were you running!" The investigator screamed at the Kat.
"How long are you going to keep me here?" The scruffy looking Kat said casually, unfazed by the enforcer's ire as he continued to smoke calmly.
He had been brought in for questioning for rushing away from the scene. Instead of asking him what he knew of the bombing they were intent on having him say he saw the SWAT Kats set it. That was hilarious to him, since he was the one who set the bomb. It had been part of his plan to pin the blame on the vigilantes so it was even funnier that these guys were making it so easy for him to do that.
"You and your friend were caught racing away from the scene, then you resisted arrest and assaulted an enforcer. We'll keep you till your trial if we have to." The interrogator snarled.
He slowly blew smoke in the interrogator's face, then said easily, "Fine! I saw the SWAT Kats attack those Kats at the museum. The costumed clowns were setting a bomb on the door and when those enforcers tried to stop them, they took off like a bat out of hell. The bomb went off and killed everyone within a 30 foot radius. Can I go now?"
"Not yet." The interrogator said coldly.
Some hours later...
"It's not looking good... listen...we'll talk about it later...I've gotta go...yeah...like I told you don't wait up...we'll talk in the morning...night!" Callie said heavily then hung up her cell.
It had not been a good afternoon and got progressively worse by evening. As she had promised, she had kept tabs on the investigation. The ordeal with the security tapes had been bad because Feral had refused to let her know what he'd seen on them. He had bluntly told her that the info was for enforcer use only.
'Enforcer use only...my cute round tail...he just doesn't want to call off the SWAT Kats hunt. He wants them to be guilty even if they aren't,' she thought furiously. Feral had not given her a drop of information on the entire investigation much to her displeasure. All her efforts to pry anything out of the stubborn Commander had ended in frustration. The day just didn't get any better from there. She was soo tired when she finally went home, far later than the day before, as the city hall clock tower chimed midnight.
Entering her apartment, it was dark and silent. Groaning to herself, she took off her shoes and padded quietly to her room and was pleased to see they had cleaned up her bed so that she could crash. Yawning, she stripped her clothes off and took a quick shower before slipping into her bed for some much deserved sleep.
"Callie..." A voice called to her, shaking her shoulder lightly. She groaned and barely cracked an eyelid open to stare balefully up at Razor.
"I thought I said I needed to sleep in?" She growled at him.
"Well, it's ten o'clock, so I did let you sleep late but I didn't want it to get later before I gave you shooting lessons. Remember? I said I would show you how to use that little gun Feral gave you." He told her tugging on her a little to coax her to get up.
"Yeah, I remember. Okay let me get dressed. Make me some coffee and I'll see you in the living room." She sighed.
"Sure!" Razor said smiling. He left her room and went to the kitchen to make her a cup.
Groaning and stretching, she still felt tired but not as bad as when she came in. She did her morning routine and was soon walking to the kitchen wearing a pink pantsuit. He smiled at her as she entered the kitchen and handed her a cup of steaming brew. She took it and sipped, moaning in pleasure.
He waited patiently till she finished. It felt good to be standing here together. T-Bone was still asleep for which he was grateful. He felt calmer and more relaxed than he had over the last few days. It felt good to be in her company and he could tell she felt the same as she gave him a warm look over her coffee cup. She put her cup in the sink then they went back into the living room. She retrieved the gun from her purse and handed it to him.
He settled into lecture mode as he showed her how to handle the weapon. "The first step is proper loading and unloading. I always like to shoot at the ground a couple times to make sure the bullet is or is not in the chamber. Always point a gun away from anything living, unless you don't want it living anymore." He told her then unloaded the gun quickly. He didn't want live rounds in it during this lesson. "Now, first thing is how you stand." He put his foot between hers and tapped on them. She really liked that but made sure not to show it.
"Keep them at this distance and in this position. Have this foot facing forward and the other to your right...yeah like that." He coaxed and complimented her.
She looked down at her feet and over to him. 'He's standing really close, if I lean back I would touch him.' She thought giddily. She tried to keep her mind on his instructions instead of his body being so close. She could feel her breathing getting deeper and heart speeding up.
"Hold the gun in your paws like this... one on...no...um...on the bottom...there you go. Good, now keep your paws like that and your trigger finger on the side of the gun till we're ready for it. You hold your arms up like this." He said, directing her body with his paws.
She felt herself getting more excited, her heart raced. His strong arms around her shoulders holding her wrist and arms up sent zings of pleasure down her spine. He slid his fingers down her arms and grabbed her shoulders.
"You want to be twisted a little, like this." Then he moved her shoulders a little. "Hold up the weight with your left arm, keep your elbow bent, just the left." He told her. He was liking this a bit too much. She felt so good in his arms but he had to try and ignore that. Chance was the one pursuing her and he had no right to interfere no matter how he felt. He needed to remember to act professional here and not get emotionally involved. 'That's easier said than done,' he thought ruefully.
"Everything ok, You stopped talking." Callie said jerking his attention back.
"I was just making sure everything was right." He said covering for his lapse. He took in a deep quiet breath and continued the lesson. "Shift some more of your body weight to right foot."
She was now leaning up against him. She look up at him "Like this" giving him a coy look.
He froze. 'I think she's coming on to me.' "Hu... yeah...that's right." His response was almost squeaky. 'Concentrate Jake, don't make yourself look stupid now...impress her... what am I thinking?... this is wrong...but it feels so right...' he argued with himself as he tried gamely to continue the lesson. "If you see it in your sights you should hit the target. The reason you miss is because you are anticipating the recoil and flinch when you pull the trigger so you end up missing your target. You have to remain rock steady when you fire."
He showed her how to look down the sights then pulled the penny he'd been saving for the lesson out of his pocket and balanced it on the tip of the gun. "Take your time, aim at a spot on the wall...pull the trigger very slowly...not yet... hold the gun firmly and pull the trigger without the penny falling." He said moving back a bit. She held her position and pulled slowly.
Plop...the penny fell to the floor.
"Ok, let's try again. Trust me, this you'll have to practice. When you go to the range and shoot it loaded, do the same thing, just pretend the penny's there." He assured her.
"What if this was for real and I had to shoot someone." She asked, holding the gun tightly.
"You'd be in rough shape because the gun is not loaded" He joked, but quickly became serious and said, "You shoot what we call, the center of mass. Which is the chest and possibly the head if your close enough. You're not shooting to kill, you're shooting to stop your attacker from attacking." He told her.
She shivered at that blunt explanation. "I'm not sure I could kill," she said quietly.
"I know. You don't have to worry about that with a 9mm. You could put several holes in a kat without killing them. The bullets are not very large. Now take your time, aim and don't drop that penny," he said softly redirecting her attention to the lesson. She nodded and tried again. He bent down and picked up the penny again.
"Let's try again." He told her. This time he kept one hand ready to catch the penny so she could try again. Good thing too, she dropped it several more times.
"Tell me everything that happened at the museum." She asked turning her head to look at him. "I can't help you guys unless I know everything that went on.
He sighed and gathered his thoughts. He wrapped his arms around her as he put the penny back up. They stood there quietly as he filled her in. "We were trapped on some stairs between the enforcers and a bunch of high schoolers..." he began, "...when the bus stopped two hours later for McD's, we slipped out the back door and walked away fast. We were afraid that nosy runt of a teen would finger us to the teachers... we ran down alleys and kept out of sight until we finally reached your place." He finished as she made another attempt.
"I did it! Razor did you see that, I did it!" Callie exclaimed happily.
"Great! try again, it gets easier." He put his arms down, but brought them up to her hips. Then pulled her over to him. "Keep your weight on this foot."
She brought her arms down. The weight from the gun was killing her. She set the penny and 9 mm on the table next to her and turned to face him. His arms partly wrapped around her still. She rested her arms and face on his chest. "I'll help you guys as much as I can," she told him seriously then shocked him by making a request, "Tell me your name."
He froze a moment, stunned. He couldn't let go of her even though he should. He was tired of things going to hell on him with no respite. It felt so wonderful in her arms. If there was only one person besides his partner he could trust with who they were it was her and maybe Felina Feral. But still he hesitated. It wasn't his secret alone.
She was perfectly silent, waiting for a reaction. She knew she was asking a lot of him and she would understand if he didn't tell her. He almost said his name but stopped. "Why" He finally asked bluntly.
She looked up at him and whispered in his ear, "Because I want to know you better and..." she paused and winked wickedly at him, "I don't want you sleeping on the couch. I have a much better place in mind." She held her breath and waited to see if he would give himself away.
He stood still in shock. 'She want's me? What do I do now?' He thought frantically then he looked into her face and saw desire. Swallowing hard, he made his decision. "It's Jake Clawson."
She gaped at him in shocked surprise. "Jake?" She blurted.
"Yeah..." he said shyly dropping his eyes from hers.
She reached up and removed his makeshift mask and stared into the face she'd known for so long as one of her favorite mechanics. "I should have known! After all, you were ex-enforcers and you work at the salvage yard...God! It all makes sense!" She breathed in amazement as she stroked his face tenderly.
Her touch made him hot as he reached up and tangled his fingers into the soft blonde hair behind her head and brought his nose to hers. They looked at each other for a second, then closed their eyes and kissed.
Meanwhile at Enforcer Headquarters...
Commander Feral was a determined, strong-minded kat. He was fairly handsome in a rugged sort of way and had a deep baritone voice. What turned off she-kats, however, was his personality. A typical no nonsense, hard worker whose job was his whole life. He liked his independence more than he cared about being married. So it wasn't unusual to find him at his desk on a Sunday morning.
He ordered his most favorite enforcer to his office. When she entered she gave him a brisk, 'Good Morning, sir!" which he appreciated. Wishing others were so respectful but then, she was a Feral and that was expected of them.
"I want you to help the investigator's team with whatever they may need to track down the SWAT Kats and put together a case against them." He ordered.
She was a little shocked but kept her professionalism. "You know my feelings about them, sir so, why me?"
'Crud! Just once I wish I didn't have to put up with an argument on this very subject,' he sighed inwardly. "It's because of that, I want you on the team and that you're my sharpest enforcer. Put your feelings aside, Lieutenant," He snapped. She frowned at him and looked like she was going to argue when they were interrupted by his intercom.
"Sir, Lt. Commander Steele is here to see you," his secretary told him.
'Ugh my worst pain in the tail and worst enforcer alive,' he thought with disgust. "Tell him to eat shit and get lost," he muttered softly then shook himself and told his secretary, "Tell him to return in 20 minutes."
"You should have just told him to eat shit..." Felina murmured softly with a wicked gleam in her eye. Her feelings on the second in command were the same as her uncles.
He traded the same look then continued his instructions."The investigator in charge of the team is Agent Harry Muffin, and you are to..."
"Who?" She interrupted him, trying to hold onto her mirth. 'That couldn't be what her uncle had said,' she thought in humorous disbelief.
He grit his teeth. 'Kat's Alive! Sometimes I truly hate my life!' He thought in annoyance. Letting his breath out and making sure he was being serious he repeated, "Agent Muffin is on the fifth floor. Consider yourself assigned to him until this case is solved. Dismissed!" He snapped returning his attention to his desk full of reports.
She couldn't help it. She never would have done it when she knew he was this annoyed but it was just too hilarious to pass up.
Her uncle realized his niece was still standing there and had a serious look on her face. Puzzled he began to say something when he caught a gleam of humor in her eyes. 'Crud! She wouldn't ...would she?' he thought helplessly.
"Harry Muffin, uncle?" She looked at him innocently but he could see the effort it took her to try and contain her laughter.
Sighing in resignation, he growled, "Please go...for fuck's sake...just go!"
She smirked but saluted him smartly and left his office. He shook his head. 'Muffin...geez... ...that guy must always get razzed,' he thought before returning to his work.