"This is Ann Gora, Katseye News. Enforcer officials have publicly stated that both the massacre of the Lorenzo crime family in Megakat Hills and yesterday's riot at Alkatraz Penitentiary are connected to an ongoing investigation. Among the seven inmates killed during the riot was Felix van Dekker, currently awaiting trial for his role in the recent attack on the memorial service held for deceased enforcer Vincent D'Angelo. Van Dekker was among three arrested during the attack, and had been considered the sole lead in the investigation. The cause of the riot, which also claimed the lives of three prison guards, is currently unknown. In other news, Megakat Savings suffered its third major network security breach in as many months, and the largest to date. A spokeskat revealed that some five thousand accounts, totaling over eighty million in deposits, may have been affected. He went on to say that…"
Feral switched off the TV and turned to face his niece.
"This," he began, "is getting out of control."
"Sir, if I may…"
He raised his paw and cut her off.
"Before we continue, I want you to know that I don't consider this to be your fault. However, it is your investigation, and I'm going to need an explanation."
Felina nervously shifted her weight. Her uncle's forehead was wrinkled in intense frustration, the veins on his forehead bulging, visible even beneath his fur. She could tell he was doing his utmost to maintain his professional demeanor, maintain his calm.
"He's not going to take this well."
She cleared her throat.
"Sir, Felix van Dekker was our only lead. The other two we arrested are street thugs, nobodies, we don't have a lot to work with here."
Her uncle sighed.
"But," she continued, "that might tell us something itself. It's a little suspicious that the Lorenzo family gets taken out like this, just when we arrest and lock up one of their goons."
Feral's face remained twisted in displeasure.
"Go on."
"Ok, so mob wars are nothing new, but not like this, the timing is too convenient. My idea, sir, is that the Lorenzo family moved against us, upset the wrong kats, and got taken out. Van Dekker was just a loose end. But…"
"Van Dekker knew nothing." interrupted Feral. "Why would they bother? Better to leave the scumbag to rot in prison."
"Perhaps someone is making a statement?"
"They already did. The function centre is still in ruins, unless you've forgotten.
Felina winced. Her uncle was testing her, and she was failing.
"Sir," she retorted, "it might be than van Dekker was in the dark, but someone still felt he needed to be taken out. Our theory up until this point was that the murder of Vincent D'Angelo and Artie Ross, as well as the attack on the memorial service, has been the work of an ex-enforcer. Van Dekker's involvement points to the Lorenzo family but…"
"But Leo Lorenzo was never an Enforcer." said Feral, completing her sentence.
Felina winced again. Strike two.
"Uncle, I think we're looking at a new player in Megakat City. Someone has come in, upset the power balance of the mob families and took out Lorenzo to show that they mean business."
"Ok, Felina, so who are we chasing, I need something more than speculation."
"Here we go…"
She cleared her throat again. "Sir, I do have one other lead. We... recovered some video footage from the Lorenzo villa. Not much, but we've got a few frames of a parked utility van, not the sort of thing you'll find up in Megakat Hills that time of day."
"The forensics report says that Lorenzo's cameras didn't show anything, the creep wiped the data right before they offed him."
"This wasn't from Lorenzo's cameras."
"Then who was... please tell me you're joking."
Felina grinned sheepishly.
"If those two vigilante crooks show their faces," said Feral, slamming his fist down, "arrest them!"
"Sir!"
###### ###### ######
The wind whipped up at her, plastering her hair across her face and drying the fresh tears that streamed down her cheeks.
The past few days had felt like months. Bereavement leave had been out of the question; The Enforcers would show little to no sympathy in light of her breach of regulations. As she hadn't been a direct participant in the events at the memorial service, she wasn't even entitled to counseling sessions. Felina had pulled a few strings for her, but the best she'd been able to do was two weeks of leave without pay. Still, in her current condition, it was better than working.
Abigail Sharpe was a wreck.
She'd woken up feeling, for the first time in days, relatively normal. A morning walk had been on the cards, and her mood had lasted right up to the point she stopped for a coffee. It was the small things, a smell or sight, perhaps a sound, that brought painful thoughts to the forefront of her mind. The coffee shop owner had been kind enough to call her a taxi so she could return home, but it was of little use, she simply ran. And kept running.
Sometimes she would erupt into a bout of anger, smashing or throwing something in her small apartment. She wanted someone to blame, someone to point the finger at and vent her anguish. This was all someone's fault, why couldn't she have the simple satisfaction of knowing who?
It was pointless; none of this would bring Artie back.
"Ma'am, are you ok?"
The voice caused her to jump a little. She was in plain view, but hadn't expected many kats to be crossing the bridge this early. Certainly, there'd be a one or two, but she didn't intend to stay here for long. No sense in causing a scene.
"Yeah, I'm fine, just getting some air." she replied without turning around.
"Uh, do you want me to call someone, it's not safe up there."
"No, please, I'm fine."
The thirty second good samaritan said no more and walked away.
"Probably has more important things to do."
Another gust of wind hit her. Abby started to feel giddy; her head swam and she couldn't help but chuckle a little. Release wasn't far away, just a single step.
Her heart pounded.
"I'm sorry." she whispered, stepping out with her right foot.
BZZZZT
The bizarre serenity of the scene was shattered by her cell phone, crackling to life and buzzing against her leg. Out of habit, she reached down and answered it."
"Hello?"
Hi, Abby, sorry to bother you.
"Fel-fel?"
Yeah. Hey, I know it's… are you driving, it sounds like a hurricane on your end.
Abby tucked the phone against her shoulder, shielding it from the wind.
"Ah, I'm j-just out for a walk, couldn't sleep."
Well, at least I didn't wake you. Hey, I know you're having some time off and all, but I need a favour.
"Wh...what do you need?"
Well, it's probably not something I should ask, it's not exactly by-the-book.
"That's my Fel-fel."
Ha, on duty or not, you're still talking to a superior officer. Anyway, I might have something on the van Dekker case, but I'm going to need someone to have a look around.
"You mean spy?"
Well, my uncle won't issue a warrant unless I give him something solid. As much as I'd like to, I can't just go kicking down doors and asking questions, but there's nothing to stop a private citizen from having a quick peek. Just don't go breaking any laws!
"Ok, s-sounds like fun, where am I going?"
Not sure yet, Ravi is just double checking. Why don't you come and meet me on the corner of fifth, just down from headquarters, I'll buy you breakfast, cream cheese and tuna bagel.
"Sure thing, Fel-fel, I'm on my way."
Thanks, I owe you!
Abby released her grip on the cable and jumped down from the railing. Replacing her phone and zipping up her windbreaker, she made her way back across Old Megakat Bridge and towards the city.
###### ###### ######
"Ok Chance, number two turbine start."
An electric whine briefly sounded from the rightmost engine of the Turbokat before the gut-wrenching sound of mechanical gears grinding and some half a gallon of unburned jet fuel shot from the exhaust.
"Crud!"
"No luck?"
Jake threw his torque wrench to the hangar floor in frustration. The two mechanics had been at it for over ten hours, and were reaching the limits of their mental endurance. Jake's initial suspicions that their jet would need engine and electrical work, along with control surface calibrations had proven to be correct, and then some.
Far from a simple clean, the entire starter assembly on two of the three engines had failed. The problem was likely a combination of electrical component degradation, mechanical seizures and simple wear and tear. Not an easy fix.
"So what's the sitrep, can we fly?" asked Chance, jumping down from the cockpit.
"Technically, yes." replied Jake. "We can start the first engine, then use bleed air to get number two running, but…"
"But what?"
"But both turbines in number one engine are off balance and the engine seals are damaged. We can start it here on the ground, but once in the air, we either run at maximum afterburner or we run it on half power and risk a flameout."
"Can we run on one engine?"
Jake ran his paw along the exhaust nozzle of the Turbokat center engine.
"We could." he continued. "I used heavier turbine blades in engine three so we can run higher afterburner rpm's, it should run just fine if we get it started, but we won't be able to do an engine restart if anything goes wrong."
"How long for a fix?"
"Two weeks, maybe three, but I'll need the parts ASAP. Up for some junkyard digging?"
"Ten-four, buddy."
###### ###### ######
"Ravi, please please please tell me that you've got something."
Felina flung the door to the IT department open. She hadn't logged the SWAT Kat's footage as evidence; her uncle would have seized it for any potential case against the two vigilantes, and she'd be left with nothing. Ravi, however, could be trusted to be a bit more discrete.
"Hang on, Captain Feral, I...NO...NO YOU BLOODY IDIOT! IS YOUR FRONT PAD TEN FEET WIDE?!"
"Ravi?"
The small kat swiveled away from the small TV.
"I'm sorry, Captain Feral, I was just watching… well, it's the world cup."
Felina crossed her arms. "Didn't I already let you go home early so you could watch that crazy sport?"
"Yes, I know, I'm very sorry Captain Feral, but a billion kats will be watching this match back home, I cannot miss out!"
"Ravi…" Felina furrowed her brow.
"Alright, Captain Feral."
Ravi switched the TV off before rolling himself over towards his terminal. A few quick keystrokes and the screen flickered to life.
"I have something for you."
"Please tell me it's good news."
"It is! The video file you gave me was good quality, it shows one of the vans with plates. But…"
"...but they're fake." said Felina. It was to be expected, no-one in their right mind would run a job like this if something a simple as their licence plate could give them away.
"Exactly! But we can still get something out of this! Those SWAT Kats were smart enough to use a colour camera, most security footage is still in black and white, saves on storage space."
"So?"
"So, Captain Feral, that means we can tell what sort of van it is. See that, it's not the best angle, but that's a metallic blue Freightrunner XL, probably seven or eight years old."
Felina leaned over Ravi's shoulder. Sure enough, the van was perfectly visible in the still frame, colour and all.
"Ok, good work so far, but what do we do without plates?"
"Easy." continued Ravi. "The MKDMV keeps records of model type and vehicle colour in its licence registration database. There might be a lot of these vans in the city, but how many kats do you think have two of this exact colour registered to them?"
Felina patted Ravi on the back. "Good job, kid! I'll talk to my uncle and we'll get a…"
Ravi grinned. "Please, don't worry yourself about it, Captain Feral. I learned from the best, I already checked their database; their network security was not very good."
Felina laughed, she was rapidly becoming a bad influence.
"What did you find?"
"Ok, so of the seven thousand Freightrunner vans in the city, only four hundred are in metallic blue, and there are only two cases where multiple vans are registered to the same place. We've got a small farm just out of the city limits with three of them, and four more registered to a warehousing company."
"Anything interesting about the farm?" asked Felina.
"Not really, meat and dairy, owned by a larger agricultural firm."
"And the warehouse?"
"Ah, yes, I had a look. South Megakat Logistics, business is registered t Tugger. No criminal record, good credit rating, not even a single speeding ticket against any of his vehicles."
"Excellent work."
The difficult part would be convincing her uncle to give her a warrants. With van Dekker gone, this was the best lead they had. No doubt he'd ask how she had obtained the vehicle information without sending a data search request to the MKDMV, and she'd be in for another chewing out for skirting about regulations again.
But results were results.
"Ravi," she continued, "double check for me, if it's all legit, I'll send someone over there to have a quick look, I'd like to know what we're charging into here."
"Of course, Captain Feral."
She couldn't, however, send just anyone. A patrol car would tip them off. They'd been several steps ahead so far, no doubt they'd thought of this possibility too. She'd ask the SWAT Kats, but they'd set off even more alarm bells. She could always go herself but…
Felina punched the quick dial on her cell phone.
Hello?
"Hi, Abby, sorry to bother you."
###### ###### ######
"Good afternoon sir, do you have a reservation?"
"No. I'm meeting someone here."
"If you give me their name, I'll be happy to let them know that you've arrived."
"Uh, I don't actually know their name."
The maître d' looked quizzically at Marco. Walking into such an establishment dressed as he was already enough to get himself turned away; not knowing his contact's name was downright suspicious.
"I see, and you are?" he asked.
"Marco Gatti, I'm expected."
"Can you describe the kat you are meeting, Mr Gatti?"
The last word dripped with more than a little contempt.
"Yeah, he's plain white," said Marco, ignoring the slight, "you can't miss him."
The waiter's eyes lit up.
"My apologies, sir, right this way."
"About time."
Why Steele had sent him to meet a contact in such a place was beyond him. Certainly, he understood that kats like Artiglio and Steele might appreciate such things, spending their time and money on luxuries and other frivoloties, but Marco wasn't like that. Thirty grand a month aside, he'd much prefer a bar, or even just a run-of-the-mill family restaurant. Places like this weren't for him.
All that said, there was no denying that it had a certain charm about it. Aging wood paneling adorned the walls; kats were seated at tables in private booths, discussing business matters and sipping wine that retailed for five hundred dollars a bottle. The lighting was low, keeping the booths dark and casting dull shadows.
"Here we are, sir, please call if you require anything."
"Thanks."
The snow white kat wordlessly eyed Marco as he took his seat in the booth. His fur was far too white to be natural, yet it showed none of the telltale signs of chemical bleaching. His eyes were almost as pale, although they retained a hint of their original green colouring.
"Green eyes..."
Steele had mentioned to him that one of Artiglio's kats was an "old buddy" of his. Marco could remember anyone quite so tall and slender, but those eyes, there was something about them. A job somewhere, something that got out of control, got messy, just when the family's were vying for control after Katscratch's untimely demise.
"That job, we had a few ex-cops on it…"
It suddenly hit Marco, his memories flooding back in an instant. Leaning forward, he spoke, half remembering, half guessing the kat's name.
"It's been a while, Lev."
The white kat answered without blinking, his accent thick, with only the occasional verbal tick suggested that he had spent the past ten years in Megakat City.
"Marco, I'm flattered that you remember me, but I must confess, I was not expecting your presence here. If memory serves, we hardly left each other's company on amicable terms."
"Did you expect Steele to send one of his regular thugs?"
Lev tilted his head slightly. "The thought had crossed my mind, although I dismissed it as being unlikely. Mr Steele seems adamant about asserting himself as a genuine participant in our operations here. I anticipated a kat of some standing, I simply wasn't expecting you."
"Yeah, well I'm surprised too.
"Please, Marco, let's let bygones be bygones. We both had our service with The Enforcers terminated in unfavourable circumstances, and we both adapted as best we could. As fortune would have it, that led us both to that rather unfortunate job."
"Unfortunate," scoffed Marco, "I remember three of our guys getting whacked, the dealer running off with our product, and me ending up with a lousey hundred bucks for my troubles."
"Then you'll recall that I wasn't paid at all." replied Lev.
"I do." said Marco, his voice softening a little. "I guess in the mess left behind after Katscratch got taken out, paying small time crooks like us didn't seem so important."
"It would also seem that you took it upon yourself to remain a...small time crook, at least until recently."
"Well, I heard that when that job went south, you took off with Dark Kat's crew."
"Indeed, I did. Small time, as you so aptly put it, simply didn't suit me."
"Crazy bastard."
Marco waved his paw at a passing waiter.
"Something strong, please." he said. "No ice."
"At once, sir."
He turned back towards Lev. "Anything for you?"
Lev shook his head. "No, thank you, I don't partake."
"Suit yourself. Anyway, what's the deal with all this," asked Marco, motioning his paw up and down in front of his body, "how did you end up so… white?"
For the first time, the white kat's expression changed, his ears drooping ever so slightly, a tiny hint of sadness in his eyes."
"It's not something I feel the need to discuss in unfamiliar company, as old an acquaintance as you may be. Suffice to say that working in with Dark Kat, one must endure certain...hardships."
"I see." said Marco. "Well, Dark Kat hasn't been seen in years, how did you end up with Artiglio?"
Lev's expression returned to it's usual, neutral state.
"It was in fact a direct consequence of my time with Dark Kat that I came to be in the employ of Mr Artiglio." he said. "Personal costs notwithstanding, one does acquire unique skills in such a line of work, skills which Mr Artiglio feels are a sound financial investment on his part."
"Sounds like something from a movie."
"Quite."
The waiter returned, carrying a small glass on a tray which he delicately deposited in front of Marco.
"Please enjoy, this one's on the house."
"Thanks, but I'm not sure I understand, you said it's on the house?"
"Yes." replied the waiter, smiling warmly. "Mr Artiglio wants all his guests to be well taken care of. If you'll excuse me."
Without another word, the kat about-faced and left.
"I guess this is one of Gus's joints?" said Marco.
"Correct. Mr Artiglio manages a number of establishments across the city. He extended an invitation to Mr Steele to send a representative to discuss upcoming matters, and felt it would be unbecoming of a kat of his position to not play the part of host. With that in mind, Marco, I must insist that we discuss business matters. While I do relish the opportunity to reminisce with you, I am expected to represent certain interests at this meeting, and to do so in a timely fashion. I'm certain that Mr Steele expects the same of you."
"Sure, sure. Look, I know we sorted most of it out at the meeting at Megakat Grand, but we've come across some useful information since then. We can make this ten times bigger than we first imagined!"
Lev tilted his head again. "You're of course referring to the identities of Leo Lorenzo's informants within the Enforcers."
Marco's heart skipped a beat.
"I...I…"
"Marco, please do not be alarmed. Mr Artiglio is aware of your actions against the Lorenzo family. While unorthodox, he recognises the unique opportunity that Mr Steele had provided him, and is willing to overlook such incidents. Leo Lorenzo's participation was never required, his premature demise changes our current circumstances very little. Naturally, Mr Artiglio knew of the extensive network of informants that the Lorenzo's controlled, but felt that apart from this small advantage, Leo Lorenzo possessed neither the weight of numbers, nor the financial clout to pose a noteworthy threat. From that, and the impressively competent manner in which you executed your attack, he concluded that this information had found its way to Mr Steele. I am correct?"
"Yeah, spot on."
"So tell me," continued Lev, "what can Mr Artiglio do to facilitate the removal of Calico Briggs from office?"
Marco leaned in again, lowering his voice to a whisper.
"Lev, do you still remember how to drive a tank?"
###### ###### ######
Author's Notes:
A shorter chapter, I know, and perhaps a little dialogue heavy. Nine chapters in and I still feel that my dialogue is a little on the weak side. Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
I don't want to sound like a broken record here, but I have to thank you guys again for reading my stuff. Every month I've had Counterplay up on the site has been better than the last; I had more views and comments halfway through October than the entirety of September. Thank you, thank you, thank you! My number one concern here is that you guys are enjoying the story.
Because you guys have been so awesome, I'm going to go ahead with a couple of other story ideas I've had floating around in my head and make Counterplay the first of a trilogy. There will be an overall plot, but each part will still be a self-contained story. I can't make any promises regarding the timeframe of this; I've only just started with Counterplay, but hopefully it will keep me busy (and you guys happy) for a while.
On a more sombre note, there is something I feel the need to mention, because I have used it as a theme and I know a lot of people find it uncomfortable. Suicide is a very real problem and I absolutely do not want to make light of it or cause anyone any undue stress over it. It is an especially concerning problem for members of the police force and armed services, both current and former, something I feel very strongly about. With that said, it is not something that I want to shy away from either. Yes, this is just a fanfic and it's hardly serious literature, but if I can draw even a little attention to this issue through my writing, then perhaps I have done some good. Again though, it is absolutely not my intention to upset anyone over this. Please do let me know if you have any concerns.
Stay safe.
-AR